Burden of schoolbags for State syllabus students may reduce

From the next academic year, children studying in the State syllabus might not have to shoulder a burden during their daily commute to school, owing to lighter schoolbags.

The Department of Primary and Secondary Education, in a recent decision, has decided that for textbooks having more than 260 pages, the contents will be split into separate books.

At least 64 of 511 textbooks in seven mediums, between classes 1 and 10, have been identified as having more than 260 pages.

The Karnataka Textbook Society prints all the necessary textbooks, catering to over 1 crore students across the State. “After analysing the textbooks for their size, weight and thickness, the department found that some textbooks were voluminous and the contents required to be split so that the child can carry only the relevant portion of the textbook to school,” P.C. Jaffer, Commissioner for Public Instruction, told

The Hindu , recently.

A survey, by the National Law School of India University and the Department of State Educational Research and Training, has found that the schoolbags of government students in the State were already lighter when compared with their peers in central board schools.

According to Mr. Jaffer, most of the textbooks that will be divided will those containing the core subjects.

“Currently, the core subjects —mathematics, science and social science for higher primary students (classes 5 to 7) — are clubbed together into two books. Students use one book for the first half of the academic year, and the other for the second half,” Mr. Jaffer explained.

He added that with the new system, there will be one book each for the three subjects.

The officials in the society, however, said that the actual benefit of splitting the books to bring down the weight of the bag will be known only after they come out of the press. “Students of some classes or mediums may benefit more and some may benefit less. It depends on the number of textbooks that the children actually carry,” the official said.

Sushmitha S., a class 7 student in a private school in the city, welcomed the move.

“We are glad that the textbooks are going be divided as some of the books are heavy. Another problem that we face is that many pages tear easily. We hope that the quality of books will improve next year,” he said.