Chandigarh forms 5-member panel to enforce school bag policy

The UT education department has constituted a five member committee to monitor compliance with the School Bag Policy, 2020, across all government, government-aided and recognised private schools, with officials warning of action against violations.

The panel will conduct quarterly inspections to ensure that school bags do not exceed 10% of a student’s body weight and that mandated measures such as bagless days are being followed. It will also carry out surprise checks, gather feedback from parents and students, and compile school-wise compliance data.

Monthly consolidated reports are to be submitted by the 5th of each month. Deputy DEO II Renu Sharma has been appointed convener of the committee, which includes four principals and headmasters from city schools. The panel has also been tasked with organising awareness and training sessions for school heads and teachers, with its first report due within 15 days.

The policy caps school bag weight at 10% of a student’s body weight, mandates bagless days to encourage activity based learning, and restricts homework for Classes 1 and 2. It also recommends a 10 day bagless internship for students of Classes 6 to 8 with local vocational practitioners and discourages the use of bulky or unnecessary study materials.

When asked why the monitoring committee was being constituted nearly six years after the policy’s rollout, director school education, Nitish Singla said it was part of a routine compliance exercise. The guidelines draw from the National Education Policy, 2020, and follow a 2018 Madras high court direction to the Union government to regulate school bag weight for children.

Formulated by an expert group including the National Council of Educational Research and Training, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and the Central Board of Secondary Education, the School Bag Policy, 2020, was notified by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and circulated to states and UTs in November, 2020, by the Union ministry of human resource development.