SRINAGAR: Coming to the rescue of tiny tots, Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to cancel the recognition and affiliation of those educational institutions which will flout the school bag policy and burden the students.
Department of School Education, Kashmir (DSEK) has come up with new guidelines to regulate the weight of school bags.
Under new guidelines, there will be no school bags up to the preschool level. The weight of the school bag from the I-II standard has been fixed at 1.5 kg. From the 3rd standard to the fifth standard, the bag weight has been fixed at three kg. Likewise, the bag weight for VI to VII standard has been fixed at 4 kg. Students studying in class 8 and 9 can carry five kg bags. For class 10 students, the bag weight has been fixed at 5.5 kg.
DSEK said the school bag policy 2020 is a comprehensive guideline and the affiliation and recognition of all these institutions will be canceled which will be found flouting it.
”The school bag is a common cause of backache in school-going children. A heavy bag may cause a child to compensate by leaning his body forward and this can strain muscles. in his neck, shoulders, and back. The child may also find it difficult to put the bag on and take it off, or he falls frequently in school while carrying his schoolbag,” DSEK said in a circular.
The government has also come up with new rules to ensure that students are not overburdened.
“No homework is assigned to students of classes up to 2nd standard. No formal books are prescribed at Pre-primary (Nursery, LKG, UKG) levels. However, students of these classes may be provided a maximum two notebooks/workbooks to be kept in the teacher’s custody in the school itself. Students of Pre-primary level are not asked to carry any bag except light carrier for Lunch box,” it said;
DSEK noted that no school should prescribe any other subjects except language and arithmetic for class 1st & 2nd; language, environmental science (EVS) & arithmetic for class 3rd to 5th; and language, social science, mathematics, and science for class 6th and· 7th, or as prescribed by the affiliating authority.
“Students shall not be asked to bring additional books and extra material to school,” DSEK said.
The government said the timetable should be framed in such a way that for each day of the week, the bag weight should not exceed the prescribed limit.
“Single notebooks need to be used for I and II standard. Two notebooks for classwork and homework for class III-V. At a time only one notebook shall be allowed in a child’s bag, the second one will be kept in school. For class VI-VIII, one file with loose paper needs to be used for classwork and homework. Systematic use of files with loose sheets need to be promoted from class VI onwards, Students need to be taught how to use ‘filing’ efficiently and intelligently so that loose sheets do not become lost sheets. Files and thin exercise books should be preferred to thick ones. From the primary stage, students should be given systematic training in the proper use of school files and homework filing systems,” DSEK said.
