By Diya Aftab
Education and children issues are never a top priority during and after election in our country. I would still like to share my views on one major problem, rarely discussed in education sector. Somebody should listen.
School bags in our country are so heavy that we – the students – feel like carrying sacks full of bricks on our shoulders. Such heavy bags cause many problems for children. Such as dizziness, headache, shoulder, neck, and back pains as well as ‘scoliosis’- the abnormal curve of spinal cord resulting in permanent back pain.
I consider it a punishment for innocent children who do not commit any crime.
Most of the private schools nowadays proudly follow Cambridge and Oxford syllabus but why don’t they follow their standard of school bags?
Many countries have addressed this problem. These countries are United Kingdom, Ireland, California, and New Jersey in United States of America, Sri Lanka, India and China. Some have set a limit of bag weight not more than 10 percent of the body weight.
However, in Pakistan there is no law against this problem. My parents and others have discussed the issue with management of schools but all fell on deaf ears.
Political parties and government should look into this problem seriously. Schools must have cupboard arranged for books so that students don’t carry heavy bags. And in this age of digital advancement there must be an out of box solution to address the issue of heavy bags.
Diya Aftab is a student of class seven in Islamabad, Pakistan. Send your comments to crvoices@gmail.com.
