Govt keen to implement recommendations to ease school bag load


By Vikas Vaidya

Maharashtra Government has decided to implement the recommendations made by expert committee to ease the school-bag load. Accordingly schools will be given a time of three months within which they would complete the formalities and the compliance should be made by November 30, 2015.
Considering the fact that majority of school students are suffering from muscle pain and are falling sick due to heavy bags, Department of School Education had constituted a committee to look into the matter. Apart from other recommendations, the Committee has urged all education boards to reduce the usage of notebooks and textbooks.
Education Minister Vinod Tawde was very keen to implement the recommendations. The eight-member committee had submitted the first draft in April. The committee had observed that over 58% of students below 10 years of age have mild muscle pain and 75% of students below 12 years of age were falling ill due to heavy bags.
The eight-member committee has submitted five observations and 44 recommendations in its report. The committee has also provided specimen of timetables, suggesting schools to hold periods of only three subjects in a day instead of six.
The committee was headed by Director of Education (Primary). The report submitted by committee on July 21, 2015 was taken into consideration. Before going with the report of Committee, Tawde had taken the opinions of medical experts too. Late President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was sheer against the heavy school bags. On his birth anniversary on October 15, schools have celebrated ‘No Schoolbag Day' would be the best school day ever!
The Committee has visited various schools to know the gravity of the schoolbag load. The committee found that most of the schools were not applying the rule that bag should not weigh more than 10 per cent of the body weight of the kid. While in urban students were found carrying everything from compass box, lunch box, water bottle, notebooks, textbooks, practical journals, work experience book, school diary and drawing books but rural students had comparatively light bags.
The Assocham survey says that majority of school going children between the age group of 5 and 12 carry excessive load in their school bags, causing a higher risk of back pain and stress in them.
Dr Rajiv Mohta, who is head of Adolescent chapter of Indian Academy of Paediatricians said, “Most of the children carry the school bags those weigh more than the normal range. This not only cause them high levels of back problems but also risk gets increased of back trouble and deformation of the spine.

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