The Hindu : Kerala News : School bags

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 04, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

School bags — no light matter this

J. Ajith Kumar

Schools are focussing on an issue that had taken a back seat for long. Many have come up with the idea of a single book for a term in this academic year.

SHOULDERING A BURDEN: A school girl carrying a heavy bag to school. Photo: S. Gopakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The concept of lighter school bag seems to be gaining acceptance in schools across the State.

Several schools have already made a beginning with the concept of a single book for a term in this academic year. Experts have welcomed this as a right step in the right direction. The less the luggage, the higher the input, they say.

The single book will contain study material for all the subjects prescribed to cover one academic term of three months. There will be three such volumes to cover the entire academic year.

Even though the State Department of Education has already initiated the single book concept in the first and second standards, most of the schools are yet to make the switchover.

A former professor of orthopaedics and a senior consultant, Mammen Thomas, says a child carrying a heavy school bag on the back could develop various problems later.

Persistent pain in the upper spine and shoulder region could be a possible outcome. "The problem affects children in the six to 16 years group, who are still in the growing up stage and who are yet to attain physical maturity," he points out.

Lakshmi Nair, educational counsellor, says that the changeover to a lighter schoolbag requires a lot of planning. While planning single textbooks, the emphasis should be on selecting topics that are similar, rather than on bringing out a compilation of lessons culled from different textbooks.

"The child becomes psychologically less burdened with a fewer number of books to carry to school every morning. Further, when one book is covered completely, the child has a sense of achievement", Ms. Lakshmi Nair says.

Besides the negative impact it can have on physical growth, a heavy school bag can affect intellectual development of a child, according to Remani Alexander, paediatrician.

"Children learn a lot even from outside text books. There is no harm in reducing the number of books they have to carry to school. The lighter the school bag, the child will feel better, physically and mentally", she says.

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