School Bag Policy-2020

In news

• A circular has been issued by the Directorate of Education asking schools to follow the new ‘School Bag Policy, 2020’. 
• It is released by the Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

School Bag Policy, 2020

• In the policy, the guidelines on homework and the weight of school bags are laid down for classes from I to XII.
• Across classes, I to X school bags should not be more than 10% of the bodyweight of students and in pre-primary students, there should be no bags.
• Up to class II, it is recommended that there should be no homework and a maximum of two hours per week for classes III to V, for classes VI to VIII one hour a day, and two hours a day for classes IX and above.
• Schools have to introduce infrastructural changes as students will not be able to carry many books daily.
• Lockers will be provided by the schools from preschool to senior secondary to enable children to leave books in school and whatever is required they should carry to their homes.
• Responsibility of the teachers to check the weight of school bags of the students every three months on a day selected for the whole class. 
• Any sort of information should be communicated by the teachers about heavy bags to the parents.
• Instead of thick or heavy ones, thin or light exercise books should be preferred.
• There should be a drinking water facility that is to reduce the weight of the school bag, it is the duty and responsibility of the school management to provide quality potable water in sufficient quantities to all the students within the school. Due to this, there will be no need to carry water bottles to the children from their homes.
• School teachers should inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day.
• They frequently need to check their bags to ensure that they are not carrying unnecessary material.

Prescribed weights

• The weight of the school bags, as per the policy, should be
• 6 to 2.2 kg for students of Classes I and II
• 7 to 2.5 kg for Classes III, IV and V
• 2 to 3 kg for Classes VI and VII
• 5 to 4 kg for Class VIII
• 5 to 4.5 kg for Classes IX and X
• 5 to 5 kg for Classes XI and XII
• The teachers should take the responsibility of checking the weight of school bags of the students every three months on a day selected for the whole class. 

Do you know? 

• Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of students.
• The heavy school bag can cause damage to the vertebral column and knees of the growing children.