SCHOOL BURDEN

Oct. 23, 2018

Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has constituted an Expert Group to formulate a draft policy on reducing the weight of school bags in proportion to the age and average weight of children.

About:

Background:
- The move comes in the background of Madras High court observing that “neither are children weightlifters nor school bags load containers.”
- On October 5, The MHRD also issued an order to formulate a policy on schoolbags on the lines of Children School Bags (Limitation on Weight) Bill of 2006, which never turned into a law.
Composition:
- Professor Ranjana Arora of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) had been named as the convenor of the Expert Group.
- Representatives of the education departments of Maharashtra and Telangana have been included as additional members, since the two States already had a policy stipulating that the weight of a schoolbag should not exceed 10% of the weight of the student.