Kerala - Kochi   

Schoolbags not to get any lighter

Shyama Rajagopal and G. Krishnakumar

No directive from State Government to implement High Court order

Shyama Rajagopal and

G. Krishnakumar

KOCHI: Notwithstanding a court verdict against the practice, children going to kindergarten will have to carry heavy schoolbags this academic year too.

On a public interest litigation, the Kerala High Court issued a directive on December 6, 2004, to reduce the load of schoolbags.

The paediatrician S. Satchidananda Kamath said the court had specifically mentioned that the recommendations of the Indian Association of Paediatricians should be followed in pre-primary education and they should be implemented in three months.

However, the Government had sought more time to implement them.

With schools reopening on Wednesday, the existing pre-primary education methods will continue.

The order passed by the Justice B. Subhashan Reddy and Justice J. Kurian Joseph had said that immediate action was required to rectify the wrong practice of making a child carry a heavy bag to school.

The weight of the bag should not exceed one-tenth the weight of the child, according to the petition filed in the court. A heavier bag would cause severe health problems, both mental and physical, to children.

Studies conducted by the IAP had revealed that a lower kindergarten child carrying a bag weighing 4 kg was equivalent to an adult carrying a cement bag.

The IAP had also pointed out the anomaly in the education system wherein pre-primary students carried a bag weighing around 4 kg, while a college student needed to carry a weight of only 1 kg.

The judgment had also pointed out that admissions be made on some broad guidelines suggested by the IAP, such as making four years the minimum age of entry into LKG and that the admission should not be based on interview and tests. However, medical fitness and immunisation certificate should be made a must for admission. It had also said that mother tongue be the medium of education in pre-school.

Sources in the Education Department say that the Government has not issued any directive that children should not carry heavy bags to schools this academic year. It is learnt that the Government has not yet formulated any plans for implementing the IAP guideline on lighter bags.

The authorities at various Government schools are also not in a position to instruct children that they can keep their books at school. Lack of infrastructure has been cited as one of the major constraints for issuing such a directive. But schools can initiate steps on their own to help children reduce the weight of their bags.

Paediatricians have been calling for lessening the weight of schoolbags, which, they say, affect the backbone of growing children. According to Dr. Kamath, it has been found that carrying heavy weight on the back causes a person to lean forward, reducing the balance of the body. It distorts the natural curves in the middle and lower backs, causing muscle strain and irritation to the spine joints and the rib cage. It also causes rounding of the shoulders.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

Schoolbags not to get any lighter
Overseas recruitment to be streamlined
High Court directive to KTDC
Pre-counselling: date extended
Fishworkers' warning
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu