Maharashtra government today told the Bombay High Court that it had issued a circular to schools fixing responsibility on trustees and principals for implementing recommendations of an expert committee on reducing weight of school bags and other issues concerning students.
The circular, issued on November 5, also mentions that the recommendations must be implemented by the schools by November-end, Government Pleader Anjali Helekar informed a bench of Justices V M Kanade and Reveti Mohite-Dere.
The Judges were hearing a PIL filed by social activist Swati Patil on rising weight of school bags and its adverse impact on the health of children.
Soon after the petition was filed, government had appointed a committee which submitted several recommendations.
As per the panel's report, students are lugging school bags 20-30 per cent heavier than what children of their age should carry. Because of this, around 60 per cent students below the age of 10 suffer from orthopaedic as well as stress- induced ailments.
The committee recommended that one book should be used for three months for each subject and the textbook weight can be reduced by using less weight paper and no hardcover.
Further, it suggested use of e-classroom, audio-visual technology and other modern means for teaching.
Government had issued a circular on July 21 on implementation of these recommendations made by the expert committee. However, it was silent on who would be responsible for implementation of the suggestions given by the panel.
The High Court then asked the state government to fix responsibility on some officer or person for implementing the suggested measures.
The state today said that the school principals and trustees of the schools had been made responsible for implementation of the recommendations.
According to the government, there are about 1.06 lakh schools in Maharashtra.
