Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 25: In a bid to provide relief to the school-going kids from the weight of heavy bags, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) today issued guidelines to the schools across Kashmir aimed at reducing the weight of the school bags while directing strict adherence to the School Bag Policy 2020.
As per the directions issued, the school teachers have been directed to inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to school on a particular day and frequently check their bags to ensure that they are not carrying unnecessary material.
The weight of the school bags, as per the policy, DSEK said, should be 1.6 to 2.2 kg for students of Classes I and II, 1.7 to 2.5 kg for Classes III, IV, and V, 2 to 3 kg for Classes VI and VII, 2.5 to 4 kg for Class VIII, 2.5 to 4.5 kg for Classes IX and X and 3.5 to 5 kg for Classes XI and XII.
It, however, noted that there should be no bag for KG classes.
The DSEK directed all the Heads of all Schools of Kashmir Division, Govt as well as Private, to strictly adhere to the revised guidelines of School Bag Policy, 2020- released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to reduce the weight of school bags for students in Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools.
As per the directives, the teachers should take the responsibility of checking the weight of school bags of the students, and any information about heavy bags should be communicated to the parents;
Further, the DSEK said, it is the duty and the responsibility of the school management to provide quality potable water in sufficient quantity to all the students in the school so that they do not need to carry water bottles from their homes.
“The files and thin/light exercise books should be preferred to thick/ heavy ones. The instructions shall be strictly adhered to,” DSEK said.
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