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CBSE board steps in with suggestions to lighten school bags
CBSE has come up with a set of 10 guidelines aimed at reducing the weight of school bags including staggering the homework over a period of time and to discourage the usage of heavy reference books.
The crying need to reduce the weight of schoolbags including a directive from the High Court, got a new voice as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has thrown their hat in the ring by coming up with their own list of guidelines. One of the important suggestions from among the 10 listed down was to ‘stagger’ the homework over a period of time and to discourage the usage of heavy reference books. These are published by private companies and are prescribed by the schools as they are considered to more elaborative and informative than the ones published by National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT).
In a statement to the schools, the board said, "Homework is to be 'staggered'to prevent overload. Academic co-ordinators/supervisors may monitor this" and "explore the possibility of block scheduling of subject classes in the class time table".
The missive also put some of the onus on the parents /teachers to ensure that students did not carry books beyond the day’s timetable. Thinking out of the box, the central board also suggested to conduct co-curricular activities on a daily basis and scheduled in such a way that it allows a balanced bag through the year.
Anisa Pathan, a school teacher, said, "Student should carry fewer books in their bags and should be more focused on learning because today we are using e- learning process." Smita Bokare, another teacher, said, "Yes we need to reduce the weight of school bag by decreasing the number of books and subjects. We need to plan and revisit the education policy. Today books of Class 1 are costlier and not easy to handle, so need to rethink about conventional schoolbag style."
Bhalchandra Tekade, a retired professor from a central government institute, said provided suggestions removed from books or rearranging timetables. According to him schools should provide locker facilities and introduce e-learning. This will not only reduce weight but will also bring students up to speed with the latest in learning tools.