Model school bag under pilot project from next year

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Moves are under way by the Education Ministry to introduce a model school bag under a pilot project from the beginning of the next school term, Education Ministry sources said.

After many experiments and analysis certain experts have pointed out that the heavy school bag might be harmful for school children.

The model school bag has been designed in line with the initiatives taken by the Education Ministry to minimize the weight of the heavy school bag.

Accordingly, the model bag which comes under the back-pack model along with waist band will be available in the market from next year.

"We considered and analysed many bag samples even from England. Having considered several elements, this sample bag was introduced", Commissioner for Education Publications N.M.J. Pushpakumara said.

Measures have been taken by the Education Ministry to motivate bag manufacturers to enter into school bag manufacturing process.

Parties can get registered at the Education Ministry as a bag manufacturer and they will be given instructions.

"After that the registered bag manufacturers can market the school bags, " he added.

Additionally, heavy textbooks will be split into many sections as volumes from 2011 as heavy text books add to the weight to school bag. Accordingly, a volume will contain a few sections of lessons. Schoolchildren are further advised not to use heavy exercise books with many pages.

The Education Ministry appreciates if exercise book has only 80 pages or less. "As a result of these series of measures, schoolchildren will have a lighter school bag", Pushpakumara noted.