No More Homework, School Bags For Class 1 and 2 Students: CBSE

The circular has said that heavy school bags can have adverse effect on the health of children.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

In a move that is sure to bring a smile on the faces of tens of thousands of children across the country, the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) has sent out a circular to its affiliate schools ordering them to end the scourge of homework and school bags for students of First and Second grade.

The circular also asked schools to take measures to help reduce the weight of school bags for all classes as it can have ‘adverse’ and ‘irreversible’ effect on health of children.

Heavier school bags are known to have adverse effects on the health of growing children, and if such bags are used for a prolonged period, the impact may well be irreversible. Young children whose spines are at a crucial stage of growth are the most susceptible to hazards such as back pain, muscle pain, shoulder pain, fatigue and in extreme cases the distortion of the spinal cord or shoulders that may most plausibly be attributed to heavy school bags.

This move comes on the back of the Maharashtra government’s new school bag policy from 2015 which limited the weight of the bag to 10 percent of the weight of the child. CBSE has suggested ways in which schools, teachers and parents can achieve this.

One of the major suggestions that the CBSE has made is that schools should ask students to stick to the timetable and make them aware about the effects of fatigue caused owing to heavy bags on their daily performance in class.

Teachers have been also asked to use loose sheets instead of workbooks, and to explore alternative methods of teaching and were instructed to form pairs among students who can study from a single textbook.

It has also directed schools to set aside time during school for students to complete their homework and assignments. However, schools have called it an “impractical” move.

We cannot afford to make separate provisions for homework completion for each subject during school hours.

A school councellor, to <i>Hindustan Times</i>

Source: Hindustan Times