SRINAGAR: The School Education Department announced on Friday that students up to preschool will not be allowed to carry bags, and the weight of school bags for students of classes I and II shall not exceed 1.5 KGs.
As per the news agency KNO, the Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) stated, “The weight of the school bags as per the policy should be 1.5Kg for students of Classes I and II, 3Kg for Classes III and IV.”
According to the circular issued by the DSEK, the weight of school bags for classes VI and VII should be 4Kgs, and 5KGs for classes VIII and IX, followed by 5.5 KGs for class X.
The circular also adds that no homework should be assigned to students up to the 2nd standard and that no formal books should be prescribed at Nursery, LKG, and UKG levels. The circular further stated that pre-primary students should not carry any bags except for a light carrier for a lunch box.
DSEK emphasized that schools should not prescribe any other subjects except for Language and Arithmetic for class 1st and 2nd, Language, Environmental Science (EVS), and Arithmetic for class 3rd to 5th, and Language, Social Science, Mathematics, and Science for class 6th and 7th, or as prescribed by the affiliating authority.
Furthermore, the circular stated that students should not be asked to bring additional books and extra material to school. Schools violating the provisions of rule 8A may face cancellation of affiliation and recognition by the government. (KNO)
This is a very good initiative taken by DSEK but it should be implemented on ground level. But my question is if we find any school ging against these guidelines how can we contact DESK.