CBSE & ICSE kids still carry heavy bags: Minister

MUMBAI: Education minister Vinod Tawde has said CBSE and ICSE schools are not doing enough to reduce the weight of school bags.
He said there is 80% compliance by state government schools to reduce the weight of school bags of students. “However, ICSE and CBSE schools have work books and other additional things that are a part of their syllabus. We will sit with them to see how the weight of school bags can be reduced without affecting their syllabus,” Tawde said while replying to a query by Congress’s Sanjay Dutt.
He said not all issues can be resolved by taking strict action and that these issues need to be resolved by counselling the schools. Dutt wanted to know the steps taken by the government to ensure school bags are made lighter. “There are many children who are still carrying school bags that are very heavy, which causes back and neck pain,”said Dutt.
Following a Bombay High Court order, the state government has taken steps to reduce the weight of school bags carried by students — this rule is applicable to all the schools in the state.