The days of carrying heavy bags to schools are finally over in West Bengal, as the newly elected BJP government in the state on Friday issued guidelines capping the school bag weight at 10 per cent of a child’s body weight.
The guidelines mandate all schools to display this weight chart on their notice boards and within their classrooms. Furthermore, the regular use of weighing machines within school premises to monitor bag weights has been made mandatory.
According to sources from the state education department, the Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission (PBSSM) has circulated the guidelines following communication from the Union Ministry of Education (MoE) regarding the implementation of the School Bag Policy, 2020.
Instructions have been passed on to all district education officers, as well as inspectors of primary and secondary schools across the state, to ensure that guidelines are strictly adhered to.
According to experts, the step is being taken in the interest of the child’s physical and mental development.
Restrictions on number of notebooks
To reduce the burden of school bags, significant changes are being introduced concerning textbooks and notebooks. Students in Classes 1 and 2 will be required to maintain only one notebook for classwork. Students from Classes 3 to 5 will be allowed to take two notebooks, with one of them permitted to remain at school, while those in higher grades will have to use thin notebooks instead of heavy, hardbound registers. Changes have also been proposed to the daily class schedule.
At the primary level, it is recommended that only two subjects be taught per day, with consecutive classes—often referred to as “block periods”—for the same subject to minimize the need for carrying multiple textbooks. Additionally, schools are encouraged to promote the sharing of textbooks among classmates seated next to each other.
Ban on trolley bags
To prevent accidents on staircases, the use of wheeled bags or trolley bags has been strictly prohibited. The notice also states, “Teachers should give advance notice of any textbook that will not be needed in class so that students can leave it at home. Reference books should not be allowed in school bags, especially for primary classes. Wheeled bags are not recommended, as they can injure children on stairs.”
Restrictions on homework
Also strict regulations regarding homework are being introduced to reduce mental stress among students. Students in the first and second grades are not to be assigned any homework. For grades three through five, homework assignments are capped at a maximum of two hours per week; for grades six through eight, the limit is one hour per day.
Even for students in higher grades, homework assignments must not exceed two hours per day. Teachers have been instructed to exercise strict vigilance to ensure that homework assignments are creative in nature and do not merely encourage rote memorisation.
Thrust on ‘bagless days’
In alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, these new state guidelines also place significant emphasis on observing ‘bagless days’. On designated days throughout the academic year, students will attend school without any bags and participate in activities such as quizzes, sports, arts and crafts, or educational excursions. A 10-day internship programme has been proposed for students from Classes 6 to 8, during which they will learn various vocational skills from local artisans.