GUWAHATI: Ahead of the new academic session, the state youth wing of Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has appealed to the Meghalaya government to ensure that the Centre’s notification in regard to the weight of school bags was adhered to in letter and spirit.
In a statement, KHNAM state youth wing president Thomas Passah said that it will write to the education minister and higher education authorities in the state to ensure that the central government’s notification is strictly implemented.
“Ahead of the start of the new semester for classes in various schools of Meghalaya, we hereby remind the schools to adhere to the given guidelines, which are as follows: Class 1 – II maximum 1.5 kg, Class III-V maximum 3 kg, Class VI-VII maximum 4 kg, Class VIII – IX maximum 4.5 kg and for Class X maximum 5 kg,” Passah said in the statement.
The state education department of Meghalaya in line with the guidelines of the central government had in February last year notified the maximum weight for school bags for various classes.
The notice also stated that schools should not assign homework to students except those recommended by MBOSE/ICSE/CBSE.
Moreover, schools should not assign any homework for students of classes I and II.
“We would also appeal to the parents to work hand in hand with the government and with the school authorities to ensure protection of children’s health and well being at all times. We will be carrying out surprise visits and will file legal complaints against defaulter schools,” Passah said.
“Last year we had carried surprise checks to find out whether the guidelines that were notified were being implemented or not by various schools in the state. During the inspection it was found out that some schools were not even aware of the notification,” he said.
Passah further said that some schools were even reluctant to abide by the guidelines while others intimated that changing the routine pattern in the middle of the year was difficult
“However, most of the schools have co-operated and were taking the matter very seriously for the welfare of the health of the children,” he added.
