Backbreaking bags

Every morning, I watch school children walking to school weighed down by heavy school bags. Bag seems to be bigger and heavier than their bodies. And when I asked this question to my cousin, who has been studying in class 6th, that why her bag is too heavy,she replied,” We have to carry eight books and eleven notebooks each day to the school.And we don’t bring anything extra.If we do not carry all these books and notebooks to school, the teacher will scold us”.Now here the question arises what is the necessity to bring all these notebooks and books daily to the school.And the answer is clear, because there is not any clear timetable of what to bring to school, on which day.And one more reason is, most of the schools feel that the heavier the bag, the greater the teaching would be.But the parents of these children are not aware on how those heavy weight of school bag has been affecting the health of their children.They are unaware of this fact, that these heavy backbreaking school bags are serious threat to the health and well being of the students.It has a severe, adverse physical effect on the growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees. Constant carrying of the heavy loads on their tender back not only seeps the energies of the youngsters, but also put them at high risk of physical disabilities.It is estimated that 60 per cent of the school children are prone to spinal ailments of different degrees on account of huge weight they carry in their school bag. But most of the parents are satisfied with the heavy bag of their children because they think the heavier the bag, more is the knowledge acquired.   

Survey and Some Startling Facts

In the year 2016, a survey was conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries of India ( ASSOCHAM ) under its health care committee in ten Indian cities and has found that 68 percent of school children under the age of 13 years across India are leading to serious spinal damage and irreversible back problems.The survey notes that over 88 percent of children in the age group of 7-13 years carry more than 45 per cent of their weight on their backs including lunch box, water bottles, art kits, sports kits etc. This study was carried out among more than 2,500 children and 1,000 parents in major cities. The finding also included some startling facts such as most students mandatorily carry over 20 textbooks and excise copies daily together with sports kits and other equipment on certain days. Acording to a survey conducted in Bengluru, the highest burden of the school bags is in the private school. And that is true.All these facts prove that either the schools authorities are unaware of the consequences of heavy school bags or they simply do not care.
In spite of these facts, still there is not any specific law to regulate the weight of school bags in India.Though certain guidelines have been issued by different executive and legislative institution time to time but these are not obligatory in nature.
                   Recent Guidelines by MHRD
Recently MHRD issued certain guidelines. As per the ministry guidelines, schools should not be allowed to prescribe anything other than NCERT textbooks in classes so that weight of school bag can be regulated. According to ministry instruction, the school children of class 1st and 2nd would not get any homework anymore from their school and there would be prescribed weight limits for school bag of every class. The weight of the school bag for class 1st and 2nd should be 1.5kg, 3kg for classes 3rd to 5th, 4kg for classes 6th and 7th, 4.5kg for 8th and 9th and for class 10th, the weight can be up to 5kg. This weight limit for school bags has been set by MHRD with the idea of removing irrelevant or obsolete content. According to ministry’s instructions, school should not ask students to bring extra books or study material to school. As MHRD has banned assigning homework for students of classes 1st and 2nd, in addition to this it also instructed that no subject other than language and mathematics is to be teached in these claases. For class 3rd to 5th, schools have to teach only language, environmental science and mathematics as prescribed by NCERT. The MHRD has taken this step as a bid to guard the health and physical development of children.And all these fresh directives has been issued to states and union territories across the country. Actually, these ministry guidelines are in adherence to the Madras High Court order on weight of school bags. Earlier this year, Madras High Court had said, “The children are neither weightlifters nor school bags are loaded containers”. Joy, happiness, enthusiasm, trolling, rolling, kicking, running, fighting, playing with other children are natural qualities of the children. This court’s observation came while passing an interim-order in May on a petition seeking direction to the schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education to purchase only NCERT books.This, however, is not the 1st time the issue of heavy school bags has cropped up. In 1993, Yashpal Committee had seriously raised the Issue and come out with a report titled ‘Learning without Burden”. In 2004, a writ petition was filed before the Kerala High Court regarding the huge bags that children are forced to carry at their tender age. Following the order passed by the High Court, the State Human Right Commission recommended the education departent to take necessary steps to reduce the weight of school bags.In 2010, Kendriya Vidhyalaya Sangathan (KVS) introduced a ‘Load Shedding’ policy in 981 schools across India on Pilot basis and set up an upper limit of school bag across grades. However, the guideline was not followed rigours across states. In 2015, on the basis of recommendation by the Bombay High Court, Maharashtra Education Department issued guidelines for reducing the weight of school bags and time was given there to implement the same. In the year 2016, August, two class 7th students from Maharashtra Chandrapur had to go on a hunger strike if their demand for lighter bags are not fulfilled. In october of that year, the Delhi government issued guidelines to heads of both govermment and private schools for reducing the weight of school bags for children. 
According to the guidelines, school principal and teacher were instructed to frame a well designed timetable for each section of the class so that children do not have to carry too many books or notebooks to the school each day.In recent past, Telangana Government has defined the weight of the school bags for all schools including government aided and unaided school. The policy specified the upper limit of the bags of 5kg for class 10th students. There is a bill also that is Children School Bags (Limitation on Weight) Bill which was introduced in 2006 but not passed by both the houses of Parliament. And till date, no specific law on reduction of weight of school bag has been passed. But the central Right of children to free and compulsory education Act, 2009- better known as Right to Education (RTE) Act- clearly states that a school bag should not weigh more than 10 percent of students’s body weight, while kids in nursery and kindergarten should not carry bags at all.Moreover, it directs schools to provide cupboards and lockers to students to keep their belongings. Any school violating the provisions of this act and the rules made there under shall be liable for fine. Provided that the appropriate government, may, if the school is recognised, derecognised the school in case of second or subsequent violation.But that’s the way things would have been in an ideal world. In reality, most schools are either not aware of the act or simply overlook the matter.In 2016 Law student of Kashmir University Badrul Duja filed Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against heavy school bags where Jammu and Kashmir High Cout directed J&K Government through Commissions Secretary Education and Director Education, to frame policy within three months.”From June 2016, the implementation of this order by court has not yet seen sunlight.
Though implementation has always been a problem in our country. Except Lakshdweep, neither any state nor union territory have implemented recent guidelines by MHRD.Perhaps we are used to a system of delaying things for no justified reasons. No doubt states such as Kerala, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and UT Delhi were already working actively to lighter student’s bags. But it is high time to implement these guidelines strictly by all states and union territories. And we must also understand that only guidelines would not do anything, we must be practical. School should at their level should form a well designed timetable for each section of the class so that children do not have to carry too many books and copies to school every day. Or school can also keep some books and copies with themselves. This is also a way students are going to get relief from the burden of heavy school bags. Every school should provide a safe drinking water to relieve students from the extra burden of carrying water bottle.And most important the burden of ensuring that children are weighed down by their bags falls not only on schools but also on parents.
On the one hand, we are talking about making learning joyous. On the other we impose so much burden on our children every day, how they’ll enjoy going to school.
Schools need to be a fun, enriching environment, where children should not need to carry inhuman amount of weight on their backs to drag backbreaking bags.Gaining knowledge should be a joy, not pain.