To ensure implementation of Centre’s guidelines regarding reduction of weight of school bags, Odisha government on Thursday issued a letter directing all District Education Officers (DEOs) and Collectors to form special squads.
The Department has instructed the district authorities to form special squads to carry out the inspections and submit report by the end of September. The team can include a police official, Block Education Officer, District Child Protection Officer and a NGO worker, suggested the letter.
The squads will conduct surprise checks in schools and take action when they find violation of any rule. Along with that, the officials have also been asked to check whether the books used in schools have been recommended by the National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) and State Council of Education Research & Training (SCERT).
As per the circular issued by Department of Education under the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) last year:
1: Homework shall not be assigned to the students of class I & II.
2: Schools should not prescribe any other subjects except Language and Mathematics for Class I & II and Language, EVS and Mathematics for Class III to V students as prescribed by the NCERT.
3: Students should not be asked to bring additional books; extra materials and the weight of the School bag should not exceed the following limit.
The notice also includes the new set limit for the weight of the school bags class-wise.
While the maximum weight of school bags for students of Classes 1 and 2 can be 1.5 kg, for Classes 3 to 5, it should not exceed 2-3 kg. For Classes 6 and 7, it should stay within 4 kg, for Classes 8 and 9 it should be lighter than 4.5 kg, and should not exceed 5 kg for Class 10.
The circular stated, “All the Schools under Department of Education is hereby directed to strictly comply the following instructions with immediate effect.”