Back-breaking burden

NEW DELHI: Three years after TOI highlighted how heavy school bags posed a threat to children who were being turned into beasts of burden another survey has revealed that nothing has changed. In fact, things have only got worse. All the right noises have been made, including a diktat by CBSE to schools, but to no avail. The average weight of a school bag still ranges from 8kg to 10kg and schools remain in the denial mode over the problem.
Over a period, doctors warn, this can give rise to musculoskeletal problems, turn our kids into hunchbacks ok, give them a bad posture and cause backache.
It would be naive to assume that given the mad race for making each child an icon of academic excellence, the number of books would in anyway be reduced. More subjects have been introduced and more written work is being given out, both in class and at home. Question banks, dictionaries, diaries, drawing files etc only add to the weight. Higher the class, more the weight.
"I arrange my bag everyday according to the time-table and it's very heavy. We have at least six study periods and have to take all the books and class work notebooks. My back hurts at times and I ask my mother to drop me to school,'' said Abhinav (name changed), a class VIth student at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. His bag weighed 8.5 kg.
Even a class II student, who has to learn basic maths and languages minus homework, carries a bag weighing close to 5.5 kg. "It's very heavy,'' says Abhishek, a class II student at Father Agnel School, as he struggles to take the bag off his shoulder for us to weigh it. It was 5.5 kg.
Long-term medical problems
Ignoring this problem can cause serious complications. Doctors, in fact, say that backache is becoming a common problem among children. "We did a few camps in various schools and found that 15-20% of students complain of regular backaches. Low-lying bags are a solution as the weight is transferred to the pelvis, forcing the kid to walk straight,'' said Dr Vivek Sharma, orthopaedic consultant, Artemis Healthcare Institute. The pain in the long run both in the lower spinal region and at the back of the neck, in the area between the shoulder blades can become chronic.
Doctors warn that heavy bags can also result in bad posture. "When the bag weighs close to 8-10 kg, children lean forward in order to balance the weight. As a result, they develop a stoop,'' said Dr PK Dave, head of the department, orthopaedics, Rockland Hospital.
Specialists say that even a primary school child should not be carrying more than 2-2.5 kg and a middle school child 3-3.5 kg. And anyway the weight should not exceed 4.5 kg even for high school children.
Helpless parents
Parents say they are helpless and at the most they can ferry the children back and forth. This, at times, with both parents working, is difficult. "I feel really bad for them. They have to carry all the books as they are not sure which book would be required the next day,'' said Parul, whose son studies in VIth class at Modern School, Barakhamba Road. Some parents have deployed bags with wheels which, however, don't last for long.
One subject, many books
One reason why the school bag has not shed weight is the practice by private schools to prescribe private publishers rather than NCERT textbooks. "They don't follow NCERT books for subjects like English. My daughter has six-seven books for English. And any given day, she carries at least three of them as she is not sure about the book,'' said Savita (name changed), whose daughter is in Class VII at Modern School. Principals say they prefer books by private publishers "as they are more comprehensive. The quality of book, presentation, pictures etc are better than NCERT. But we do use NCERT books,'' said Rima C Ailawadi, principal, Salwan Public School (afternoon). Agrees Madhulika Sen, principal of Tagore International, and adds: "Some of the books are bigger and thicker. But our aim is to give children better education.''
According to KK Vashisht, head of the department, elementary education, who was part of the committee which formulated the National Curriculum Framework in 2005: "Most of these books are bulky, have inferior content and are not written by competent authors.''
Fancy bags to blame
Many principals blame students and parents for not following the time-table and buying fancy bags which are heavy. "We have seen it so many times that children just carry all the books, which are not required, as they feel too lazy. Parents don't want to take responsibility and just want to blame schools, '' says Lata Vaidyanathan, principal, Modern School, Barakhamba Road.
No permanent solution
This approach does not address the larger problem and comes in the way of whatever solutions schools may have come up with in the past few years. For instance, some schools, like Delhi Public School, R K Puram, have given their students lockers which are of little help. Teachers dictate notes in margins of books which need to be frequently revised for tests. Moreover, there's a lot of class work and homework. It's very difficult for students to decide which books and copies to leave behind and which to carry home. "Moreover, notebooks and copies can get lost,'' points out a parent who didn't wish to be identified. Homework and unit tests keep students tied up and hence the books are needed. Loose worksheets can be a solution if supervised well.
Sri Ram School claims to be giving students homework in just one subject for a day. "We have set days for subjects. So, we keep the books and notebooks in school,'' said principal Manika Sharma. Another school in Greater Noida, Pragyan School, has dispensed with school bags altogether. All books are kept in lockers.
Schools will have to come up with innovative solutions if this heavy weight has to be taken off the children's back. It's time they recognised the problem and acted.