Effective solution to heavy school bag

CARRYING heavy school bags day after day is one of the most distressing experiences for young children. Many complain of back pain, which results in adoption of bad habits like poor posture or slouching.

The issue of pupils lugging heavy school bags has been a long-standing problem and it is not getting any better.

Thick textbooks, additional workbooks, numerous exercise books, stationery, a one or two-litre water tumbler, lunch box plus the school bag itself contribute to the weight pupils have to carry to school daily. Bringing all the books seems to be the safest way to avoid being reprimanded by teachers.

Is it compulsory for pupils to bring their textbooks to school? If teachers require them to use the textbooks in class, it is very unlikely that the whole textbook is used. Usually, only a few pages or chapters are required.

Installing lockers in school may not be practical due to financial constraints. Moreover, the pupils may need to use the books at home for their homework.

Using wheeled or trolley school bags may be helpful if the classroom is on the ground floor but imagine carrying a heavy school bag and walking up several flights of stairs.

The use of electronic textbooks may not be feasible due to the high cost. Nevertheless, pupils can use electronic dictionaries as they are lighter and more efficient.

One effective way to lighten the heavy load is to print textbooks that can be separated into various parts so that students only bring the parts that are required for the lessons. Textbooks could be divided into three terms or chapters, and the ones required for the day can be placed in a ring file. And instead of using exercise books, pupils should use test pads that can be compiled into ring files as well. Pupils can then carry just two ring files, one for the lessons and the other for the exercises.

Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of our pupils. If the issue of heavy school bags is not resolved, we might see a generation of hunchbacks!

I hope the above suggestion will enlighten stakeholders on the ways to lighten school bags.

OTP Teluk Intan