No school bags, books for pre-primary students: Govt notifies new rules

Srinagar, April 16 (KNB):  School Education Department of J&K has done away with school bags and formal textbooks for pre-primary students besides homework upto 2nd class,  

As per a notification, issued by Principal Secretary School education department Dr Asgar Hasan Samoon which is in possession of KNB directed the schools not to assign any homework to the students upto class 2.

Principal Secretary School Education Department has issued a notification as Rule 8A of in the school education Act under which the heads of the schools have been entrusted to ensure that students of Pre-primary school are not asked to carry any bag except light carrier for lunch box.

“No formal books are prescribed at Pre-primary (Nursery, LKG, UKG) levels. However, students of these classes may be provided a maximum of two notebooks/workbooks to be kept in the teachers’ custody in the school itself, “the notification reads.

As per the amendments made in the Act, no school should prescribe any other subjects except language and arithmetic for class 1st and 2nd primary students.

“Students from 3rd to primary classes should be prescribed only language subjects, Environmental Science and Arithmetic. Language, Social Science, Mathematics and Science for class 6th and 7th, or as prescribed by the affiliating authority,” notification reads.

The department has also fixed the maximum permissible weight of the school bags for students of different classes.

There is no school bag for pre-primary students and the weight of the school bag for class 1 and 2 should not exceed 1.5 kg.

Similarly, the notification reads that the permissible weight of school bags has been fixed as 3 kg, 4 kg, 5kg and 5.5 kg for standards 3rd to 5th, 6th to 7th, 8th to 9th and 10th classes.

In the case of violation of the order, the Government may cancel affiliation, recognition of the schools.

It further reads that School Education Department shall issue an academic calendar every year for the schools affiliated with JK BOSE / Government which shall be followed by all the concerned schools. (KNB)