The Education Department of Manipur Government has decided to declare 'no school bag day' on all working Saturdays for students of class 1 to 8, in a bid to promote the co-curricular activities, games, and sports, recreational activities and in turn a holistic development rather than simply availing knowledge from textbooks.

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A thoughtful decision by Manipur

The decision was taken after considering the physical and mental effects on young students as they carry heavy school bags leading to inconvenience, health problems and discomforts. The initiative further aims to make schools a fun-loving and joyful place for learning. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, “The world is changing so fast, we must give some liberty to children. After due consideration, the education department took the decision”. 

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The Memorandum issued for 'No School Bags'

An office memorandum to this effect was issued by the Education department enforcing 'No School Bag Day' in all categories of schools including the government and private schools. “It has come to the knowledge of the government that the students in these categories of classes are found to be always engaged with routine works related to school curriculum, additional homework assignments thereby finding hard to find any quality time for life skill activities including games and sports, extra co-curricular activities, etc. which can help in their holistic personality development and growth”, the memorandum said. 

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Move appreciated by the residents

The idea has been well received and the residents of Manipur have appreciated this move of the government. Earlier, the Odisha government had instructed to implement guidelines for all private schools to reduce the weight of students’ school bags. As per state government guidelines, private schools will now have to set the accurate weight of students' school bags. Apart from the Odisha government, the Delhi government also released the circular and fixed the weight of a school bag in Delhi schools. The circular asks schools to inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to the school on a particular day. 

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