Day: July 5, 2010

The weight of the school bag has been the subject of much debate and speculation. Last January the Central Board of Secondary Education in India issued a circular to all heads of institutions, to lighten the weight of school bags, especially at the primary level. (see the video here). Sometimes schools have come up with ideas to alleviate this weighty issue. Apart from limiting the number of books that children need to study, schools have also been asked to make arrangements so that students up to Class II can deposit their books in the school itself. Diverse studies on school bag weights conducted by different NGOs across the country have found the average weight carried by a student to a school to range between 6kg and 10kg. Internationally, most countries observe norms that limit the weight of school bags to less than one-seventh of the weight of the student. The BBC quotes a study that shows that more than a third of Italian pupils carry bags which weigh more than 30% of their body weight at least once a week. (more…)