BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: Karnataka has 22.8% tobacco prevalence among the 15 and above age group, out of it 3.7% are from 15-17 years children. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India launched Revised Guidelines for Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions (ToFEI) on 31^st May 2019. However, there are no robust mechanisms to monitor the ToFEI compliance regularly with real-time data. Hence, STCC, Karnataka in collaboration with Dept of School Education with technical assistance from Vital Strategies developed the ToFEI Monitoring Information System in Karnataka in 2023.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: ToFEI app is used by the district-level staff under the Dept of Education, who are designated officials under COTPA section 6b, to facilitate and monitor the progress of ToFEI implementation. Further, a real-time monitoring information system dashboard was developed to track the overall progress of ToFEI implementation at State and District levels. Through dept of School Education, 3 rounds of orientation programs were conducted on ToFEI indicators and the use of the ToFEI app to 19000 school teachers and staff.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: ToFEI App-based monitoring system has been implemented in all 32 districts of Karnataka. In one year, 4366 educational institutions enrolled and updated ToFEI compliance, out of it 3463 Educational Institutions declared as ToFEI compliance based on evidence-based real-time data. This resulted in an improvement in overall ToFEI compliance in the State from 25% to 37% in a year.
CONCLUSIONS: A Web-based monitoring system is a feasible option to monitor and upscale the implementation of ToFEI guidelines and transform educational institutions into tobacco-free zones. This may be a good model to the Ministry of Education, Government of India to replicate in PAN India to monitor ToFEI compliance with evidence-based real-time data.