Central Board of School Education (CBSE) directive calling for keeping bags of school children light, asking teachers to discourage senior students from carrying heavy reference books while schools may continue to keep books of kids up to class II in the school is really a welcome move to make education for children a burden less. The direction on the matter states that parents should ensure that their children are not carrying heavy bags and they carry only the necessary books for the day and not put additional material or activity books in their bags. Moreover, schools have been asked to make arrangement for food with the consent of parents so that children need not carry tiffin boxes along with them. The schools have also been asked to provide clean drinking water to the students, which is a rarity. The Children School Bags (Limitation on Weight) Bill, 2006 provides for limiting the weight of schoolbags carried by children. It also prescribes responsibilities on schools to ensure locker facilities in schools for students to keep some of their belongings in the classrooms itself. The Bill passed by the Parliament says it was the duty of the government to ensure that the weight of schoolbag should not be more than 10 per cent of the weight of the child. A large number of school kids carrying heavy bags are falling victims to temporary as well as permanent medical conditions, such as backaches, spondylitis, neck pain, deformed skeletons and lung problems. Delhi High Court had in January 2012 asked schools to take steps to ensure that the bags do not exceed 10 per cent of a child’s body weight. The court had also said kids shall not be burdened with homework till Class 1. The Ashok Ganguly Committee constituted by the court suggested that there should be no books in the bag in pre-school classes, and that children should only carry a lunch box and play materials. Education system needs to be changed according to the ground requirements and children at earlier stage of their schooling should not be burdened with heavy bags rather education should be made fun-linked or sports-linked activity for the overall growth of child’s personality.
