Schools told to up use of e-learning

In a much-needed relief for students across the state, the state government has put a cap on the weight of school bags at 10% of a student's body weight. A government resolution to this effect was issued on Tuesday and a report was tabled in the legis lative council on Wednesday.

“In an earlier government resolution (GR) to reduce the weight of school bags, there was no clarity on what the maximum weight should be due to which it was difficult to judge if it was being implemented. Hence, despite two GRs, there were several complaints about the weights,“ said school education secretary , Nand Kumar in the resolution. The prescribed weight of the bags for students of classes I to VIII is between 1,800 gms and 3,425 gms.

The government had set up a committee to suggest ways to reduce the weight of school bags. The committee had made 44 recommendations which were put up on the state department's website for suggestions from stakeholders.

The guidelines call upon both parents and schools to ensure that the weight of the school bags does not exceed the prescribed limit of 10% of a student's body weight. Parents have been asked to ensure that students carry only those books which are essential for the day and not send additional activity books or material. Parents have been advised to turn their attention towards keeping the child's body mass index (BMI) healthy .“Eating junk food increases the weight of a child but does not make the child stronger.Schools providing midday meals and parents must ensure that a healthy BMI is main tained,“ said the GR.

Schools have been asked to increase the use of e-learning, conduct frequent checks of the weight and make play equipment available for the well being of the students. Another change suggested is to have lesser periods of the same subject. “Currently, a period is between 30 and 35 minutes. An additional 10 minutes are required when students move classes. Hence, the duration of one period could be increased. However, care must be taken that one period does not exceed one hour,“ said the GR.

Schools and the parents have been asked to collaborate to ensure that the students need not carry a big water bottle or heavy food box by making available clean water and food in school premises.

In its role, the state and education boards are expected to make efforts to provide e-textbooks, carry out checks at schools if there are any complaints and make recommendations to reduce the weight of the bags further.

Source | Times of India | 23 July 2015