No schoolbags for CBSE tots; parents say schools may ignore rule

HYDERABAD: The Central Board of Secondary Education has directed affiliated schools to ensure that students of the first and second standards don’t have to bring school bags. They were also to be assigned absolutely no homework.

The CBSE had highlighted the adverse effects of heavy bags, especially on primary school children. There is a risk of spine injury as well as back pain, muscle pain, shoulder pain, fatigue and in extreme cases distortion of spinal cord or shoulders, CBSE director, K.K. Choudhury said.

School administrations were told to sensitise students, parents and teachers and include themes such as “adverse effects of heavy school bags” during various activities and events conducted in schools.

But parents in the city have expressed doubts over the strict implementation of the CBSE directive to all its affiliated schools to reduce the weight of schoolbags. Many said that while some schools were taking up genuine efforts to stop heavy bags, the rules were being completely ignored in other schools.

Mr C.J. Singh, a parent, said implementation was lacking. “Students from higher classes are being made to carry very heavy bags. Recently, the parent of a Class 9 student brought to our notice that his child was complaining of back pain. Students are being made to carry text books on a daily basis and that’s increasingly impacting their health,” he said.

Hyderabad Parents’ Association member, Aravinda Jata, whose two children study at DPS-Nacharam, said children from primary sections were not being made to carry textbooks daily. “Parents are told to tie a red band to the kids’ bags and the class teacher will return textbooks on that day. But on other days, children are allowed to carry only notebooks,” she said.

Bro. Show Reddy of Missionary Schools Association said that old schools were lacking a provision for lockers and shelves to keep textbooks safely. “Here, they have no option, but to make students carry textbooks and notebooks every single day. However, the onus is on the parent to make sure the child comes to the school only with books prescribed for the academic timetable of that day,” he said.