Perturbed by his patients’ pain, doctor speaks out against heavy school bags

Children carrying school bags on their shoulders so heavy that they are sometimes falling to the back of the child’s knees are a common sight across the country on any given day. So much so that we have stopped paying heed to it. But a senior doctor from Karachi has become so perturbed by the situation that he has decided to bring it to the notice of the authorities.

Dr Noman Nasir, the Deputy Medical Superintendent of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, has written a letter to the principals of all schools in the city as well as the education secretary highlighting the adverse affects that carrying heavy school bags have on the health of children.

Terming the lifting of heavy school bags a “sensitive and important issue”, Dr Nasir wrote to principals and the secretary stating that he had observed in his routine practice that most of the children who came to him for treatment came with complaints of a stiff neck, shoulder pain and backache, which may lead to severe lumbago – pain in the muscle and joints of the lower back.

In the letter dated Friday, March 17, Dr Nasir requested the relevant authorities to take notice of the issue and take steps to implement a system where children only have to carry the specific books needed as per the daily timetable.

Speaking on the matter, Sharfuz Zaman, the chairman of the Private Schools Management Association, told The News that some 30 years ago he had published a report about heavy school bags and raised the issue with the authorities but no tangible actions were taken back then.

“When small children carry overweight school bags, it affects their backbone, shoulders and overall health,” he said. Zaman added that at least 10 subjects are taught to students of grade six through 10 in both private and government schools, but not on a daily basis. Therefore, students should not bring books and notebooks for all subjects every day as that just adds extra weight to their bags. According to him, schools’ administrations need to manage a proper schedule for students so that they only bring in books which are needed for the day.

He said that educators and authorities must take immediate action against this unnecessary burden on the shoulders of small kids. Rafia Mallah, the registrar of the Sindh Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions, said parents should also be held responsible for not packing their children’s school bags according to the timetable.

“It has also been observed that sometimes students come to schools without having their breakfast,” she said. Rafia claimed that the directorate has always been focused on resolving such issues and had also directed the owners of private schools to organise parent-teacher meetings every two weeks to raise and address these issues.

Professor Dr Akbar Yazdani, the founder of Education for All Pakistan, said the problem of heavy school bags is alarming because already a large number of schools in the country do not have adequate basic facilities, including clean drinking water, playgrounds and other facilities which are beneficial for the health of schoolchildren. He said a clear rule should be introduced about the weight of school bags so that children only get to carry a reasonable sized bag.