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It is heartening to note that the Union Education Ministry (earlier known as Human Resource Development) has asked the state school departments to keep a close watch on the weight of school bags that students are carrying to their classrooms. In a recent note to state school secretaries the Union Ministry has made known that the weight of school bags should not be more than 10 per cent of the weight of the student. For strict adherence to this instruction, it has been made mandatory for every school to install a digital machine to check the weight of the bags. At the same time, it has also instructed that school bags be made of lightweight materials and should hang from both shoulders. Apart from issuing such instructions, the Union Education Ministry has been very specific about the number of copies school children will carry. For students up to class II, it has been instructed that they will carry only one notebook. The numbers of the notebooks will be increased to two for students between third and fifth grades. Students of pre-primary classes should not carry any bags. Above all, at least 10 ‘bagless days’ should be provided to all students from 1-12 each month. Those days will be used to offer vocational training to students. The Union Education Ministry has urged the states to follow the instructions in true letter and spirit as these are in accordance with the new National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP).
Beyond a doubt, the existing education system in our country needs an urgent overhaul. Some changes have become necessary to keep pace with modern times. While many nations have made necessary changes, India is clearly lagging behind in this regard. Since childhood our children are virtually forced to study all subjects irrespective of their preferences. Too much pressure on the curriculum literally kills the ‘joy of learning.’ Many social scientists have warned the education department and schools to look into this matter with all seriousness. Unfortunately, the warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Instead of making education attractive to students of all ages and classes, too much stress on pressure learning is making students disenchanted with education. For students, the present education system is more of a punishment than a learning process. In our country unlike western countries, merit takes a backseat. Thus, it is not adequate to nourish the talents that lay with India’s youths.
In this regard, the new directive issued by the Union Education Ministry has all the potential to usher in a new era in the education system of the country. The new directives are similar to the education system that renowned poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore introduced in Biswa Bharati during the middle part of the twentieth century where students learnt more from nature and daily experiences than in classrooms and textbooks. At present one thing that can be said with certainty is that if the new directive is implemented in our schools, students will no longer be burdened by overweight school bags and the pressure of its contents will be lessened.