No homework for children up to class 2 and carry a bag weighing not more than 2 kg.
According to the new School Bag Policy 2020 released by the Ministry of Education, children up to class 2 should not be given any homework as they are too young to sit for long hours and they should carry a bag weighing not more than 2 kg.
This comes in consideration to the fact that both, excessive homework and heavy school bag, may have potential ill effects of children.
The students overburdened by homework may become disillusioned with school and lose motivation. It may also interfere with time family time which is very important.
Heavy school bags are assumed to have deleterious effects on children. As per various studies, carrying heavy school bag can affect a child’s spine and back so badly that it might have long term ill-effects.
The document of the policy is in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP) released in July which gives guidelines on homework and weight of school bags for classes 1 to 12.
“It is requested to kindly adopt relevant suggestions of the School Bag Policy and NEP 2020 and ensure the implementation in your jurisdiction. The compliance report in this regard may be shared with this department (the ministry),” read the circular and was shared with all state governments on 24 November along with a circular asking for its implementation.
Fair distribution of textbook weight:-
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on the basis of various studies and surveys made a policy which suggested a class-wise range for the ratio of school bag as 10 per cent of the body weight. Following is example what weight of school bags must be like:-
- For class 1 & 2, it should be 1.6 to 2.2 kg as the average body weight of a child in that age is 16-22 kg.
- For class 11 and 12 students can carry a 3.5 to 5 kg bag as the average weight of children in that age is around 35 to 50 kg.
Homework pattern:-
The policy also covered in detail about homework for students at various levels. Following is the timetable for various classes:-
- No homework for children up to class 2
- Max 2 hours for children in classes 3, 4, 5 per week. Also suggesting the kind of homework
- For classes 6 to 8, homework should be maximum of one hour a day
- For Secondary and Higher Secondary stages, a maximum of two hours of homework a day is recommended
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