Today school bag carried by school children as a daily load becomes a health problem. Back pain in school children is becoming a new topic of growing health problem raising a red flag and an alarm about the dangers associated with improper childhood school bag weight and use.
The weight of school bag and the negative consequences of such a heavy load may cause back pain and damage the spine in children.
Based on the recommendation of the Professor Yashpal Committee, the HRD ministry had asked the National Council of Education Research and Training to rework school syllabus to reduce the load of books. The Central Board of Secondary Education has also framed guidelines for its affiliated schools to reduce backpack loads.
However the implementation of the said recommendations has yet not seen sunlight, as the plight of the small children is still sympathetic. There is no law in India to regulate weight of school bags but from time to time certain guidelines have come for governing boards. These not being mandatory.
A study by the Movement Analysis Lab of Srinivas College of Physiotherapy and Research Centre found even bags weighing 15% could affect head, neck, trunk, and the lower limb changing the overall posture of the child.
Children carrying bags weighing more than 10 per cent of their body weight have been found to have poorer lung function. Yet, life goes on as before for most families even after they hear their children complaining about pain in back and neck. Growing weight of school bag and its effect on health of the children has became a matter of grave concern for every parent School authorities
Prayers
School children should not carry anything which weighs more than 10% of their body weigh
The Minister of Human Resource and Development shall ensure that every school in India provides lockers of such size, as may be prescribed, to each student in the school up to class eighth in order to enable him/her to keep sports equipments, books and note books in the school
Any school violating the provisions of this Act and the rules made there under shall be liable for fine.
Provided that the appropriate Government may, if the school is recognized, derecognize the school in case of second or subsequent violation.
We are confident that the Minister of Human Resource Development will consider our demand and will take an immediate step to reduce unnecessary burden on our children’s back.
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