The weight of the school bag should be reduced and homework should not be done till class two – Ministry of Education

New Delhi: The Central Government has formulated a new policy to reduce the weight of school bags of students. The new school bag policy released by the Union Ministry of Education recommends that the bag weight of school children should be less than 10% of their body weight. The policy also stipulates that homework should not be given to students up to class two.

The maximum weight of students up to class two is 22 kg. Therefore, the new school bag policy prepared by the Union Ministry of Education has recommended that the weight of their school bag should not exceed two kilograms. The policy also stipulates that the weight of school bags should not exceed 5 kg as the weight of students studying at Plus Two level is 35 to 50 kg.

Teachers should also consider the weight of a children’s book when deciding on it. Publishers are required to record weight in all books. Quality lunch and drinking water should be ensured in schools. In that case, you may not want to bring a bowl or water bottle to school as part of your bag. The policy also points out that this will help reduce the weight and size of school bags.

Another recommendation of the policy is not to give homework to students up to second class as they cannot sit and study for too long. Instead of giving homework, teachers should tell students how they spent their evenings, what they played and what they ate.

Students in grades three to five should be given a maximum of two hours of homework per week. Students in grades six to eight can be given a maximum of one hour of homework each day. It is from this age that students begin to sit for more time with greater concentration.

Therefore, students should be encouraged to write stories, essays, local topics, and energy conservation. The policy also stipulates that students in classes IX to XII should not be given more than two hours of homework per day. The Madras High Court had in 2018 directed the Central Government to formulate a policy to reduce the weight of school bags.

Based on this, an expert committee was formed to formulate the policy under the leadership of Ranjana Arora, Head of Curriculum, NCERT. The new policy is based on a survey of 3,000 parents and 3,600 students in 350 schools across the country. The Central Government has sent a copy of the policy to all the states.