No Homework For Students Till Class 3, Cap On School Bag Weight: HRD Ministry

Delhi: With the Ministry of Human Resource Management (HRD) issuing a circular to all the state governments fixing school bag weight for each classes, there has been mixed reaction from the state governments as well as the parent and child-right communities.

According to the HRD circular, the weight prescribed for school bags as per classes is as follows:

· 1.5 kg for Class I and II,

· 2-3kgs for Class III and V,

· 4 kg for Class VI and VII,

· 4.5 kg for Class VIII and IX and

· 5 kg for Class X.

The circular which was approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy in 2017 itself, has been issued to most of the state governments and have been implemented in principle by some states.

· The circular also instructed that no homework should be given to students of Classes I & II. No Subjects except for language and Maths should be given as homework.

· Class 3 -4 EVS and Maths as prescribed by NCERT

· No child should bring additional books or extra materials either.

But the question that the academic experts raise is that while reducing the physical weight is acceptable, what about the reduction in syllabus from the books?

The problem is if the school has to adhere to the new weight standards, the state has to revise the syllabus — in fact reduce the contents considerably. This means, the department of education will have to take major steps to revise the syllabus and content in textbooks.

There are so many things in our textbooks which are irrelevant and needs to be cut down. A Class 2 child need not learn the math table till hundred or start writing compositions in English or the native regional language.

Another issue is that the books are prescribed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Does this new regulation apply to the schools offering other boards like the individual state boards, ICSE syllabus and the new curriculum like the Cambridge Assessments, IB and IGCSE, which are of international standards?

To make the syllabi of all the boards uniform, cannot be done by the government nor can they reduce the number of books prescribed by other boards.

When we talk about reduction of bag weight, we also look into the multiple lunch boxes and the water bottles which adds on to the child's burden. Many schools offer snacks and lunch at school , but that comes at an exorbitant price and not all schools offer lunch facility.

When it comes to bag weight, a few corporate schools offer locker facilities making it easy for the child to leave books which are not required for homework in the lockers.

To ask the government for a new mode of digital teaching which would reduce the weight of the bag is not fiscally possible with the use of laptops and digital projectors for digital class rooms in every school being a distant dream.

The government of India has initiated the process of reducing syllabus by giving emphasis on extra -curricular activities.

Last year, Telangana had capped school bag weight for primary, upper primary, secondary and senior secondary sections and Karnataka government this year invited suggestions from students themselves on how the burden of bags can be reduced.

Also Read: Telangana To Extend Mid Day Meals To All Govt Educational Institutions