Dispur’s Guidelines On Weights of Satchels Go Unheeded

Dispur’s Guidelines On Weights of Satchels Go Unheeded

GUWAHATI: Majority of private schools have violated Dispur’s guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags.

The State Government had asked all schools to implement its guidelines on the maximum weight of school bags within May 31, 2019.

“Even though all schools were given ample time and scope to implement the government’s guidelines within the stipulated deadline, majority of the institutions have not yet taken any initiative to reduce the weight of school bags on various pretexts. Only a handful of schools have partially implemented the guidelines,” a source in the Education department said.

The principal of a leading English private school in the city said his institution is working on the guidelines by holding discussion with various stakeholders including parents and students. “Certain guidelines might be difficult to follow in practical situation. The syllabi of both State and Central education boards are vast and the weight of school bags naturally tends to increase,” he said. The principal, however, refused to spell out the time frame when his school will implement the guidelines. Similar is the situation in the majority of private schools.

A notification issued last year by the State Elementary Education department, fixed 1.5kg as the maximum weight of school bags for Classes I and II, 2kg to 3kg for Classes III to V, 4kg for Classes VI and VII, 4.5kg for Classes VIII and IX and 5 kg for Class X. The notification made it clear that schools will have to inform their students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to the schools on a particular day.

The notification says the school must ensure that students carry books only according to the timetable, and also counsel the parents and teachers about health issues arising out of carrying heavy school bags.

According to the notification the school must ensure that students carry books only according to the timetable and counsel the parents and teachers about health issues arising out of carrying heavy school bags. The schools should not prescribe additional and supplementary textbooks that are voluminous.

“Students should be encouraged to repack their bags on a daily basis and avoid carrying unnecessary articles, textbooks and workbooks that are not needed. The school must frequently check the school bags to ensure that the students are not carrying heavy bags with unnecessary material,” the notification said.

State Education Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharyya seems to look the other way whenever the issue is brought to his issue. Bhattacharyya on Saturday told a few reporters here that the Deputy Commissioners have been asked to take actions against the erring schools. The Minister also asked reporters to identify the erring schools.

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