Scheme to reduce the weight of school bags for students

SHRI VIJAYAKUMAR (ALIAS) VIJAY VASANTH

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state

(a) whether the Government has formulated any scheme to reduce the weight of school bags for students and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the names of States where such scheme is being implemented at present;

(c) whether the Union Government proposes to formulate such scheme to reduce the weight of school bags for students;

(d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  time  by  which  this  system  is  likely  to  be implemented; and

(e) if not, the reasons therefor?

(a) to (e) : Policy on School Bag was formulated by Expert Committee comprising of members from National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)and released by NCERT in 2020. The Ministry of Education has circulated the Policy across the States and UTs vide its letter dated 24th November 2020. The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage has been brought out and released on 20th October, 2022. This framework also focuses on experimental learning and variety of Learning-Teaching Material (LTM) for the foundational stage rather than only on textbooks.

 

Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India. States & UTs have been advised to adopt relevant suggestions of the School Bag Policy and National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and ensure the implementation of the same.

The States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Lakshadweep and NCT of Delhi have issued instructions/guidelines  to reduce the weight of school bags.

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