Madhya Pradesh schools asked to follow ‘bag less’ day

NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh education minister Uday Pratap Singh asked all schools to observe 'bag less day' once a week for students of all classes. According to the government's orders, students of Classes 1 to 12 will be required to carry bags of a weight determined by the school management committee.

The decision was made to alleviate the stress that children endure as a result of carrying their bags. All government and private school students in Classes 1 to 12 will be affected by this decision for the academic year 2024-25. The government has classified the weight of students' bags according to their Class.

News agency ANI quoted school education minister Uday Pratap Singh as saying, " The weight of students' bags has been categorised according to their classes in order to reduce stress on children due to the weight of their bags. The bag weight of the younger students will be up to 2.2 kg, while the bag weight of the older students will be up to 4.5 kg. We have also decided to "Bag less school" once a week."

Bag weight guidelines

According to the guidelines, students of Classes 1, 2 will have to carry school bags weighing 1.6 to 2.2 kg. Students of Class 3 to 5 will carry school bags weighing 1.7 to 2.5 kg. Students of Class 6, 7 will have to carry school bags weighing 2 to 3 kg, while for Class 8 students it is from 2.5 to 4 kg, and for Class 9, 10 from 2.5 kg to 4.5 kg. Based on the students' chosen streams, the school management committee will determine the weight limit for Class 11, 12.

Similar guidelines were issued in 2022, considering the national education policy and the school bag policy 2020 published by the ministry of human resource development, department of school education and literacy.

The idea of bagless schooling is to encourage students to have fun that day, to play games, to participate in sports activities, to explore cultural programs, to listen to music, etc. Students should be kept engaged in such a way that school does not seem like an issue of stress, but rather a matter of joy, the minister said.