The State Human Rights Commission sought a report on Wednesday from the Principal Secretary of School Education of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh about the weight of school bags and homework given to children. They have sought the report by the end of October.
The Commission sought the report following a petition filed by Hyderabad-based NGO Balala Hakkula Sangham, which claimed that schools have been violating child rights by burdening them physically and mentally.
In his petition, BHS President Achyuta Rao said that children were made to study for more than nine hours a day without any physical activity. He added that the children are also given heavy homework, which deprives them of healthy sleep.
“With this homework, pressure on children is mounting and they are facing mental trauma and tension which is affecting their health,” Achyuta Rao said.
It must be noted that the Telangana government issued guidelines before the beginning of the school year on the weight of the school bags and supply of drinking water in schools, preventing students from carrying water bottles.
According to the guidelines, school bags of students in classes I and II should not weigh more than 1.5 kg, not more than 3kg for those in classes III-V, not more than 4kg for those in classes VI-VII, not more than 4.5kg for those in classes VII-IX and not more than 5kg for those in Class X.
These guidelines also say that there must be no homework for students from Class I to V, and bags must be checked to ensure students aren’t carrying unnecessary material.