Karnataka government re-issues guidelines on school bag weight

Karnataka government re-issues guidelines on school bag weight

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, June 22, 2023: Urging schools in the state to follow the school bag guidelines, the Department of School Education and Literacy in Karnataka on Wednesday reissued the 2019 circular to the schools and asked the block-level education officers to ensure strict implementation of the order.

 

As per the circular, the maximum permitted weight of the school bag should not be more than 15 per cent of the student’s weight. According to the guidelines, class 1-2 children’s bags should weigh 1.5-2 kg and that of class 3-5, 2-3 kg; class 6-8, 3-4 kg and for classes 9-10, it should be 4-5 kg.

Besides, the circular also mentioned that schools should celebrate a ‘no bag day’ once a week, preferably on Saturdays.

The order was issued based on the recommendations suggested by Dr VP Niranjanaradhya Committee. The committee was constituted by the state government to study the health implications on school students due to their school bag weights.

The committee, which was constituted several years back, submitted its final report in 2018-19.

Back in 2019, when the final report was submitted by the committee, the Karnataka government issued an order directing schools to ensure that the weight of a schoolbag is not more than 10 per cent of the child’s weight.

Earlier in April this year, the Bureau of Indian Standards announced that it would develop a standard that will address the issue of heavy school bags that students carry every day. In response to the questions about children’s heavy school bags, the Director General of BIS stated that the organisation will conduct research and will prepare a standard for the same shortly.