Odisha HC Asks State Govt To File Compliance Report On Weight Of School Bags

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has set a 35-day deadline for the State Government to file a compliance report on its earlier order to implement the notification and guidelines issued to reduce the weight of school bags for students.

The government had issued guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags of students on March 8 last year. The guidelines were applicable to all Government, aided and unaided private schools having Class I to X. The weight of school bag with textbooks and notebooks was to be limited to 1.5 kg for Class I and II, two to three kg for Class III to V, four kg for Class VI to VII, 4.5 kg for Class VIII to IX and five kg for Class X students.

The High Court fixed the deadline after advocate Kanhayalal Sharma filed an affidavit on Monday alleging that the notification and guidelines were not being implemented by schools in the entire State in general and Cuttack in particular. The Court was hearing Sharma’s PIL on the problem of burden of heavy school bags on children.

The Odisha government, on August 1 last year, had asked Collectors to form squads who would visit all schools, including ICSE and CBSE, and conduct raids to ensure that they didn’t exceed the prescribed weight limit. Special squads are yet to be formed. Sharma in his affidavit also alleged District Education Officers were also not implementing the HC’s August 5 order.

The HC, in its August 5 order, had said, “The District Education Officer of every district is directed to implement the aforesaid scheme in its true spirit.” After hearing the submissions of the counsel of SME department, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanju Panda and Justice SK Sahoo fixed March 2 date for further hearing on the matter.