Complying with the central Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry’s order to reduce the load of school bags for students, the state education department issued a notification recently to reduce and limit the bag weight for students of primary and secondary classes.
The guidelines mentioned that no homework should be assigned to students of classes I and II. Further, it stated that schools prescribing homework and non-prescribed subject for class I and II and classes III to V students, will be disaffiliated.
The prescribed weight limit for school bags for classes I and II is 1.5 kg, while for classes III to V the weight should not exceed 2-3 kg, for classes VI to VIII the weight should be 4 kg and for classes VIII to IX 4.5 kg and for class X the weight should not exceed 5 kg.
In order to ensure compliance, the notification states that the school authorities must inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day.
The education department has also constituted special squads at the district level and at the block level.
