SHILLONG: In a relief to the students, the state government has reduced the weight of the school bags.
According to the notification issued by the Education Department on Monday, the weight of the school bags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg.
“For students of classes III to V, the weight should not exceed 3 kg and for students of classes VI to VII, the maximum weight should be 4 kg”, the notification said.
While the weight should not exceed 4.5 kg for the students of classes VIII to IX, the maximum weight a class X student can carry is 5 kg.
The notification said schools should not assign homework to students except those recommended by MBOSE/ICSE/CBSE.
Moreover, the schools should not assign any homework for students of classes I and II.
“Students should not be forced to bring additional books and other materials from the prescribed textbooks. Schools should make sure that the students carry only such text books as indicated in the time table”, the order said.
The education department has also asked the heads of the schools and teachers to frame well designed time table for each class so that the children do not have to carry too many books or note books to the schools.
“Reading library books and participation in Games, Sports, Arts and Culture and other creative co-curricular activities for holistic development of students must be encouraged”, the order said.
The notification with immediate effect issued by DP Wahlang, the principal secretary to education department said the decisions are as per the guidelines of the union ministry of human resource development since the weight of the school bags has affected the health of the children.
