SunstarTV Bureau: The Union Ministry of education has announced the ‘Policy on School Bag 2020’ in line with the New Education Policy, on December 8.
According to the policy, the total weight of a student’s school bag for students from class 1 to 10 should not be more than 10 percent of their body weight.
The heavy school bag problem has been a subject of debate for several years. The National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) has gone through several surveys and found that carrying heavy bags was bad for student’s health, especially for those in pre-primary and primary classes.
The recommendations in the policy not only outcome as a relief to students but also reduce the mental baggage they carry.
According to Rajat Soni, a teen-life and parenting coach, “It’s a step towards changing the perception of studies being a burden or obligation.” The larger goal is to make students understand the goal of education to prepare them for adulthood. For instance, that exams are not meant to judge them as people, but simply a tool to measure the knowledge gained.
As per the policy’s recommendations, school authorities are required to conduct a meeting at the beginning of the academic year to ensure a fair distribution of textbook weight per day for classes 1 to 12. This would be followed through the year,
Weight decide for the students according to their classes are as follow,
For class 1, the bag weight should be between 1.6 kg and 2.2 kg, for classes 2 to 5 between 1.7 kg and 2.5 kg, for classes 6 to 8 between 2 kg and 3 kg, for classes 9 and 10 between 2.5 kg and 4 kg, and 3.5 kg to 5 kg for classes 11 and 12. Parents, on their part, can ensure that children carry only the books and notebooks required by their time tables.
