Odisha: Special squads visit schools to check bag's weight

The special squads of Khordha district administration on Thursday visited several schools to check the weight of school bags.

Acting upon the Odisha High Court's directive, the district administration has formed special squads to monitor the implementation of Ministry of Human Resource Development's (MHRD) guidelines on the weight of school bags in all schools in Khordha district including the capital city of Bhubaneswar.

"During the inspection, we checked the weight of bags in different schools. The parents should also check their children's school bags' weight and adjust it according to the MHRD guidelines," said Snikdha Misra, Block Education Officer.

The squad also checked if the schools are following the NCERT prescribed syllabus and books or not.

"We also have checked other guidelines like subjects and syllabus. We have found they are following the NCERT syllabus," she added.

The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) in October last year had directed all States and Union Territories to draw up guidelines for reducing the weight of schools bags.

According to MHRD guidelines, the maximum weight of the school bag for students of Class 1 and 2 should not exceed 1.5 kg, for Class 3 to 5 not more than 3 kg, for Class 6 to 8 about 4 kg, for Class 9 and 10 4.5 kg and for Class 10, it should not be more than 5 kg.