Mumbai state government had issued a circular about a year ago in which it asked the schools to monitor the bags of the students and to make sure that they are light.
Following the circular some institutes of the states have come up with a detailed planon how to make the students' bags lighter.
A formal program has been implemented by the Euroschool International in Airoli under which it has appointed some students as 'safety marshalls', who randomly check the schoolbags of the other students and also tell other students the ways in which they can make their bags lighter.
According to the school, the program is supported by various other facilities such school lockers, e-learning and altered time table and the
weight of the bags of the students from six to 10 years of age has reduced by 1 kg.
Raymond Fernandez, head, content and learning, Euroschool, said, “Under our structured program, we monitor the weight of schoolbags and collect the data to study the average weight a child carries over a period of time, to understand how to reduce the load.”
At St Josephʼs School in Panvel, new time table has led to fewer textbooks and notebooks in the school bags of the children.
Kalpana Diwvedi, the principal, said, “We have reduced the number of textbooks and notebooks to a maximum of four for the entire curriculum. However, parents must also be proactive and make sure their children do not carry extra weight. For example, fancy bottles and two tiffin boxes can be avoided”.
Deepshikha Srivastava, principal of Rajhans Vidyalaya in Andheri West, said, “We offer lunches in the cafeteria, and tell children to carry their own water bottles. In addition, we have provided a notice to students and parents as to how to maintain a healthy bag weight”.