The government of Delhi on Wednesday issueed guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags for students of primary, secondary and senior secondary schools. Under its School Bag Policy 2020, the state government has prescribed weight limits for school bags for students of different classes. School Bag Policy that has been designed by an expert committee, recommends that the weight of school bags for students between Class 1 and Class 10 should not be more than 10 per cent of their body weight.
“Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of school students. These have adverse physical effects on the growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees.....Moreover, in the schools which are functioning in double or multi storey buildings, children have to climb the stairs with heavy school bags which further aggravates the problem,” the Directorate of Education (DoE) said in a letter to school principals. READ DETAILED CIRCULAR HERE
Measures suggested to reduce weight of school bags
- Schools to follow and use textbooks prescribed by SCERT, NCERT and CBSE only
- Schools to formulate well thought-out time table, so that students do not need to carry too many books on a single day
- Holistic Development of students should be promoted via participation in Games, Sports, Art & Culture and other Creative Activities
- Habit of Reading library books should be developed among students
- No Textbook prescribed for students of pre-primary classes
- Only Single Notebook to be carried by Class 1 and 2 students
- No homework to be issued to students of Class 1 and 2
- For students of other classes, one notebook per subject to be prescribed
Class-wise weight limits prescribed for school bags
To avoid any confusion about implementation of the policy, the Delhi Government has also shared class-wise weight limits for school bags of students. The detailed chart about class-wise weight limits of school bags has to be displayed on the notice board of the school to spread awareness and sensitize students and parents about the same.
|
Class
|
Average Body Weight in Kg
|
Recommended Bag Weight in Kg
|
|
Pre-Primary
|
10-16 Kg
|
No Bags, No Homework
|
|
Class 1 and 2
|
16 to 22 Kg
|
1.6 Kg to 2.2 Kg
|
|
Class 3, 4 and 5
|
17 to 25 Kg
|
1.7 Kg to 2.5 Kg
|
|
Class 6 and 7
|
20 to 30 Kg
|
2.0 kg to 3.0 Kg
|
|
Class 8
|
25 to 40 Kg
|
2.5 Kg to 4.0 Kg
|
|
Class 9 and 10
|
25 to 45 Kg
|
2.5 Kg to 4.5 Kg
|
|
Class 11 and 12
|
35 to 50 Kg
|
3.5 Kg to 5.0 Kg
|
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