The burden ofeducation

In our country, school children are left with no other option, but to carry heavy school bags to school. According to a research, this leads to strained backs and necks in growing children. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the weight of a school bag must not be more than the 10 percent body weight of the student. However, this is not followed in the country and students carry bags as heavy as 10kg.

The negative effects of carrying heavy bags on shoulders include bad posture, back and neck pain, and muscle pain. School authorities should take remedial measures to tackle the serious issue. They should provide lockers to students so that they can keep books and journals which are only needed in classrooms inside the lockers. A big notebook with proper sections for all subjects should be used instead of a different textbook for various subjects. If schools fail to take necessary measures, the government must intervene and fix the weight limit and penalise those schools who fail to meet the standards set by the authorities.

Riaz Mahar

Sukkur