The backpacks carried by the students of English medium and privately-run schools, where the government has no effective control, are really a matter of worry. Keeping the schooling system uninterrupted, the government should monitor their activities under some consensually agreed rules.
Kids coming back from the schools often looks very weary as they carry heavy backpacks packed with textbooks, exercise books and etc. And the baggage are getting heavier with the passage of time as privately run primary schools are forcing their students to buy too many books and ancillaries simply out of profit motives. The government-run primary schools have also joined the queue. But forcing kids to carry heavy schoolbags is cruelty to them as it could permanently damage their spines so early in life. In its observation, the HC said forcing primary schoolchildren to carry heavy weight is cruelty and violation of human rights.
The HC delivering the verdict on a writ petition asked the government to instruct schools to ensure that no children carry heavy bag that weighs more than 10 pc of his/her own-weight. It also asked the authorities concerned to form a monitoring cell for taking necessary steps to stop this practice and take punitive actions against those responsible for children forcing to carry heavy bags violating the court’s order. The government should issue a circular within 30 days for formulation of the law, incorporating necessary instructions for schools so that they can ensure that no child carries heavy backpacks.
Students carry overweight bags as their schools compel them to carry many books, papers and instruments in the absence of specific regulation prohibiting school authorities from doing so. Snatching off the cheerful days of life yields lifelong effects on the children. It may hamper the physical and mental development of the children. We feel, the HC’s directive should be honoured in its earnest for the betterment of the future, of our children.
