Burden of School bag Shri Ramvir Singh Bidhuri: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the details of measures taken by the Government to reduce the burden of school bag of children under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020; (b) whether schools in the country have started implementing "bagless days" and whether any study has been conducted in this regard, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has any proposal to fix the maximum limit of school bag weight and ensure the measurement of school bag weight from time to time; and (d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d) National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 in para 4.33 aims to make concerted efforts, through suitable changes in curriculum and pedagogy, with the support of NCERT, SCERTs, schools, and educators to significantly reduce the weight of school bags and textbooks. NEP 2020 also recommends that all students will participate in a 10-day bagless period during Grades 6-8 where they intern with local experts such as carpenters, gardeners, potters, artists etc. Policy on School Bag was formulated by Expert Committee comprising of members from NCERT, KVS, NVS and CBSE and released by NCERT in 2020. The Ministry of Education has circulated the Policy across the States and UTs vide its letter dated 24th November 2020. Class-wise range for ratio for school bag as 10 per cent of the body weight as suggested in School Bag Policy is given below: Table : Class wise range of average body weight of children 1 Pre-primary No bag 2 Class I 1.6-2.2kg 3 Class II 1.6-2.2kg 4 Class III 1-7-2.5kg 5 Class IV 11-7-2.5kg 6 Class V 1-7-2.5kg 7 Class VI 2-3kg 8 Class VII 2-3kg 9 Class VIII 2.5-4kg 10 Class IX 2.5-4.5kg 11 Class X 2.5-4.5kg 12 Class XI 3.5-5kg 13 Class XII 3.5-5kg Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India. States & UTs have been advised to adopt relevant suggestions of the School Bag Policy and National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and ensure the implementation of the same. In pursuance of the recommendation on bagless days, the Government in consultation with concerned stakeholders has developed guidelines for 10 bagless days, launched on 29th July, 2024 on the occasion of NEP 2020’s 4th Anniversary. These guidelines aim at providing children of classes 6-8 exposure to skill education using experiential learning pedagogy and to make learning at schools joyful and stress free. Under these guidelines, ‘Bagless Days’ are encouraged throughout the year for activities involving arts, quizzes, sports, and skills; periodic exposure to activities outside school through visits to places of historical, cultural and tourist importance; Identification of Plants, Trees and Birds around school; meeting local artists and craftsmen and visits to other institutions as decided by States and local communities and mapped by local skilling needs.