HRD ministry urges states to keep schoolbags light

PUNE: The HRD ministry, in a communication on Tuesday, has told education secretaries of all the states and Union Territories to adopt the schoolbag policy 2020 from standards I to XII.
The policy recommends following the universally accepted ratio where the weight for schoolbags is 10% of the bodyweight of the students.
Joint director of primary education Dinkar Temkar, one of the six members on the experts’ committee that formulated the policy, said a survey of stakeholders helped draw up the recommendations.
The policy also suggested ways to mend the timetable and other aspects in a day for a lightweight school bag.
The committee was constituted after the Madras high court order in 2018 on framing a policy to reduce the weight of schoolbags.
The experts were from CBSE, JNV and NCERT, with a member from Telangana, and Temkar representing Maharashtra. Both states already have a schoolbag policy.
Temkar said, “After 2-3 meetings in Delhi, we surveyed parents, students, teachers and principals. We compiled the findings and submitted the report about a year ago. The New Education Policy also mentions bag-less days and vocational courses. The new National Curriculum Framework based on NEP 2020 will have some suggestions which the states and UTs will have to incorporate along with this policy.”
The members met four times from October to December 2018 to pool their experiences as administrators, academicians and as parents.
They shared guidelines their organisations and states had developed on school bags to formulate a draft policy.
The group observed that the school curriculum, which included subjects offered at different stages, homework, and other academics, was linked to the weight of schoolbags.
More number of subjects offered in schools means more textbooks to carry, and every day homework too added more books to the bag.
Based on the survey data and discussions, the committee recommended the reduction of the weight of schoolbags, less homework and fewer subjects.
Animesh More said, “A check on the weight of a school bag has to be a collective effort. Older students carry too many books even if not needed Some carry books of coaching classes in the same bag. Parents must keep a watch and schools need not burden them with extra books.”
Principal of Acharya Shree Vijay Vallabh School Manasi Marulkar said they have two periods for one subject in a single day so that students carry fewer books.
“We conduct regular checks, and if students are found with extra tuition books, or other preparatory books we write a note to parents,” she added.