Neelam Choudhary
neelam11choudhary@gmail.com
Every April, as schools reopen, I find myself writing the same words. The fact that I must repeat them year after year is proof enough that the issue remains unaddressed.
Walk past any school gate in the morning and you’ll see the same troubling sight: children bent under the weight of bags almost as big as themselves. Despite the promises of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which clearly calls for lighter bags, bagless days and activity-based learning, many schools continue with old routines.
This is not a small issue. It is an alarming signal for our future. Heavy bags are not just uncomfortable; they are harming our children. Many studies (Chaudhari et al., 2021; Hussain et al.,2022; Kumar & Kumar,2025; Perrone et al.,2018) across the world have shown that children often suffer back pain because their school bags weigh far more than what’s considered safe: (more than) ten percent of their body weight (as per NEP 2020 guidelines). Doctors warn that this can lead to posture problems and even long-term spinal issues. The impact is not only physical. Research has found that children carrying heavier bags often felt tired and struggled to concentrate in class.
Joyful learning is not just a nice idea. It’s backed by research. Studies show that emotions and thinking are closely linked throughout life. When learners feel positive emotions, their minds open up. They become more flexible, curious and ready to explore. This openness helps them discover new knowledge, build relationships and develop skills (Fredrickson, 2013, p. 815). In short, joy doesn’t distract from learning. Rather it drives it. In this regard, Li & Kangas (2024) highlight that teachers are not just facilitators, but can act as co-players in playful learning environments, marking a significant pedagogical shift toward participatory and game-like approaches in early education.
Yet many schools today feel less like places of learning and more like machines. Their main job seems to be ticking off chapters, rushing through lessons and completing the syllabus. In this process, children are treated like outputs on a conveyor belt, not living, breathing individuals. When education becomes mechanical, it loses its soul: the joy, curiosity and human connection that make learning meaningful.
Bagless days, lockers and lighter textbooks remain a distant dream. In most schools, ‘bagless’ simply means a token Saturday, when children are already drained from the week.
Parents pay high fees and trust schools with their children’s well-being, yet their voices are often ignored. Emails and appeals go unanswered, as if parents do not matter. But parents are key stakeholders. They live with the child’s reality every day: the heavy bags, the exam stress, the joy when learning feels playful. Schools, by contrast, focus on timetables, curriculum and outcomes from a distance. When parents’ insights are sidelined, policies lose their humanity. Real change: lighter bags, flexible routines, joyful classrooms can only happen when parents are heard.
The School Bag Policy 2020 under NEP was never meant to be a vague directive. Rather, it is a carefully designed, research-backed concept created by top experts. Its guidelines are simple, practical and child-friendly: keep bags within 10% of a child’s body weight, split textbooks semester-wise, provide lockers and introduce bagless days filled with playful, vocational activities. None of this requires extraordinary resources; it only requires schools to do their bit.
Yet, across India, implementation remains patchy. While Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and government schools in Himachal Pradesh stand out as strong examples enforcing weight limits, providing lockers and adopting bagless days; most schools still treat the policy as advisory rather than mandatory. Private schools continue with heavy timetables and state schools struggle with uneven rollout. Compliance is often self-reported.
This gap between policy and practice is glaring. Schools proudly print “Aligned with NEP 2020” on the cover of textbooks, but the spirit of NEP is missing in reality. If this policy is to truly serve children, there must be proper surveillance and timely surprise checks by concerned authorities. Without accountability, the promise of NEP 2020 risks remaining only words on paper.
The real celebration of NEP 2020 will not be in slogans or cover-page claims: it will be in the day we hear good news from every school in India: the School Bag Policy has been implemented. That moment will mean children finally walk lighter, study freer and learn with joy. Until then, the promise of NEP remains incomplete and the celebration still awaits.
(The author is faculty of Economics at CDOE, University of Jammu)
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