Mumbai: No school bag days, book-less activities begin to gain traction

The state school education department and education boar-ds have made several efforts to help reduce the weight of backpacks

Some schools have begun to lessen the burden of children, who are weighed down by heavy backpacks, by implementing ‘no school bag days’. Certain institutions have also set up book lockers and designed timetables so children don’t have to bring textbooks to class daily. Dr Arti Dua Kapoor, the principal of Vikhroli’s Orchids – The International School, told mid-day that the objective of the school’s ‘No Bags’ initiative is to reduce the students’ burden and enable them to experience education through innovative academic activities.

She said, “The project aims to alleviate the stress of students and create a happy environment and improve their overall physical and psychological health. According to the lesson plan, teachers will use learning kits to teach students in various creative ways rather than depending only on books.” Activities such as clay moulding, tracing letters, colouring, reading, recitation and learning numbers will also be held on that day for smaller kids. Dr Kapoor stated that parents and students have been very supportive of the initiative as it hinges on interactive experiences rather than carrying books to school. 

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Dr Arti Dua Kapoor, Kalpana Patange and Rohan Bhatt

“Students will be trained primarily on terrace gardening, herbalism and traditional arts on No Books Day. It has also helped teachers identify hidden talents and skills. The activities help focus on developing the listening, speaking and fine motor skills of the kids,” she said. The principal of Jamnabai Narsee School, Kalpana Patange, said that the institution’s curriculum was designed to offer rich learning experiences.

Elaborating on the school’s book-less activities, she said, “Project presentations, or Gyan Manthan, are a highlight in each class. Other opportunities include art and astronomy workshops, leadership camps, festival celebrations, Model United Nations, a week-long annual programme that has mass participation in the performing arts and sporting events. Experiential learning is the focus that always leads to meaningful gains. We believe in experiential learning. We have days when even parents can participate and even get to see how their kids are doing. Students enjoy activity-based learning a lot,” she said.

The state school education department and education boar-ds have made several efforts to help reduce the weight of backpacks, but the situation remains mostly unchanged. A few court orders have been issued directing state governments to frame policies to discourage pupils from carrying heavy school bags. Also, committees have been formed from time to time to discuss the issue. 

Arundhati Chavan, president of Parent Teachers Association United Forum, said, “Heavy sch-ool bags have become a cause of pain in their lower backs, shoulders and hands, but these issues are sometimes disregarded and misunderstood as growing pains and attributed to incorrect posture. Schools must organise quizzes, group discussions and reading sessions wherein students can learn to use library resources better. It is a good thing schools are coming up with intelligent initiatives to rid students of this problem.”

Rohan Bhatt, chairman of the Mumbai-based Children’s Academy Group of Schools, however, said the issue is serious and cannot be dealt with by doing away with backpacks for a day or two. “We, at Children’s Academy, regularly weigh the bags of our students in all our schools. In their calendars, we have a section where we report to parents about the weight of their child’s bag and what needs to be done. We discourage students from getting pencil or tiffin boxes that are heavy. We also advise parents to send half or empty water bottles which kids can fill at school. Teachers have also been instructed not to allow all textbooks to be brought to the classroom.”

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