A load off: Maharashta govt sets weight limit on students' school bags

Taking a load off students’ shoulders, Maharashtra government has put a limit on the weight of school bags carried by students to 10 percent of their body weight, reported Times of India. [caption id=“attachment_2358676” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. AFP[/caption] The report was tabled in the legislative council on Wednesday after the government issued a resolution on the same on Tuesday. This effectively means that a Class 1 student whose average weight should be around 20.1 kg, should not carry a bag weighing any more than 2 kg. The resolution has called upon parents to ensure that the limit on the weight is followed. It is their responsibility to see to it that students only carry books that are essential. The government and schools will also keep a check by weighing bags, reported Hindustan Times. The prescribed weight of school bags for students of classes I to VIII is between 1,800 gms and 3,425 gms. The Times of India report also stated that schools and parents can collaborate to ensure that students need not carry heavy lunch boxes and a big water bottle by providing clean water and food in the premises. Schools have also been asked to encourage e-learning. Following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by social worker Swati Patil in April where she stated a certificate issued by a KEM hospital doctor which says that children may suffer from neck pain, backaches ans spondylosis if they continue to carry heavy bags regularly, the government even set up a committee to suggest ways to reduce the weight of school bags. The committee had then come up with 44 recommendations which was put on the state department’s website for suggestions.