Children Health and Academic Achievements: A Micro-econometric Analysis
Research Article
The study examines the effect of children's health on their educational performance in Sargodha city, Pakistan. The data utilized for the study were collected from a primary level survey of randomly selected children attending various private and public schools in Sargodha during 2016. The study employs a multinomial logistic regression model to estimate the effect of children's health status as determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) on their academic performance. To control the role of other socio-economic factors that might affect children's educational achievements, the study also includes such variables as study hours and school type. The regression estimates reveal that controlling for other factors, children's health status has a significant positive contribution toward their educational achievements. Results also depict that school type and study hours had a significant impact on children's academic performance. Children from private schools, as compared to public schools, were more likely to achieve high scores. The study's findings suggest that to improve children's educational performance, the parents need to pay serious attention to their nutrition and health. There is also an immediate need for public policies to promote awareness about the role of children's health on their academic achievements. Additionally, the results suggest that there is a need for further research to explore the factors responsible for the relatively poor performance of the students attending public versus private schools in Sargodha.