The Bihar Education Department has asked all private and government-aided schools in the state to follow NCERT guidelines so that the weight of school bags does not go beyond 10 per cent of a child’s body weight. The department has also directed schools to install weighing scales on campus so that bag weight can be checked regularly. Officials said any private school found violating the rule will face action.Speaking to PTI on Sunday, Bihar Education Minister Mithlesh Tiwari said, “All private and government-aided schools in the state will have to follow the NCERT School Bag Policy, 2020 and ensure that the weight of a school bag does not exceed 10 per cent of the child’s body weight. The move is aimed at reducing the physical burden on students.”He said the weight of school bags must be monitored regularly in schools and institutions should also prepare timetables in a way that students do not have to carry unnecessary books or material every day.The minister added that student health and overall development are central to the policy. “Therefore, it needs to be made mandatory that every school, irrespective of its management, ensures the implementation of the school bag policy for the betterment of our children. Health, physical education and arts education are the areas which help in the all-round development of children. These need to be given adequate space in the timetable,” he said.As per NCERT guidelines, schools must also make bag weight checks a routine practice with a functional weighing machine on campus. “For classes 1-5, teachers must take the responsibility of randomly checking the weight of school bags every three months on a day selected for the whole class. Information about heavy bags needs to be communicated to the parents of the child, and the bag needs to be monitored for a week or two to ensure that the child starts carrying a lighter bag,” the guidelines say.
