Reducing Load On School Children; Uttarakhand Schools To Have Bag-Free Days (Photo by Swastik Arora on Unsplash)

In a unique move to reduce the burden of school-going students, the Uttarakhand government has decided to introduce 10 bag-free days each month, in every school in the state. The new decision is expected to reduce the load of school children. During the ten bag-free days, subjects such as Soil management, machine learning, pottery, woodwork, calligraphy, health education, communication skills, nature conservation, welding, casting, stitching and robotics will be taught to the students. One bag-free day will be observed by all upper primary and secondary schools on the last Saturday of each month from class 6 to class 12 each academic year, an official release quoted by The Indian Express said.

During these days, the students will go to school without the book, allowing them to engage in various activities as per their interest. According to a press release, the initiative was introduced as per the National Education Policy, 2020.

In the statement, the state educational minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the introduction of the new routine is for the “all-round development of school children” “The decision has been taken for the all-round development of school children so that apart from their studies they can also upgrade their special skills for which they have an inborn talent,” he said.

Uttarakhand’s primary schools are already following these schemes as the students are observing “Pratibha Diwas” on some days and they are indulging themselves in activities of their aptitudes.

Noting the overall development that the students get from the decision, parents” associations and teachers have appreciated the government for making praiseworthy decisions such as bag-free days. The Uttarakhand state education minister granted its approval to the proposal to implement the decision across the state on Tuesday. After the government issues an order on the decision, the process of enforcing the proposal will begin, officials said quoting The Indian Express.

As the bag-free days are set to be introduced in the upcoming academic sessions, the new step by the Uttarakhand government can be an ideal model for other states too. As the debate on the emerging trend of heavy-weighted bags among school students and its negative health impact, such decisions could be an effective choice to tackle the crises.