New standard school bags for the New Year!

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The parents of 4.2 million schoolchildren in the country have highly commended the decision taken by the Government to introduce standard school bags for children from the new school term which begins tomorrow.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Junior Observer that the necessity of standard school bags has been a long-felt need.

Expressing his views on the various shapes and sizes of school bags currently available in the market, he said that many of them have been manufactured without taking into consideration the health problems they could cause children, as a result of long-term use.He said most school bags do not conform to the standard and the use of such bags will only lead to various health risks.A teacher of a leading girls' school in Colombo, Mrs. A. S. Premaratna thanked the Education Ministry for creating an awareness among parents about the importance of using the standard school bags from next year.

Quoting a recent research conducted by Dr. Kapila Jayaratna on the proper standard of school bags, she said most students have complained of aches and pains in the body and spinal deformities. Even psychological trauma has been experienced by some children who do not use standard school bags.

She proposed that the Education Ministry take measures to enlighten parents about places were the new bags could easily be purchased. The new school bags have been designed by the Ministry of Education in association with Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition. According to the specification given by the Education Ministry these standard school bags are rectangle in shape and the edges are curved.

Each bag has two completely separate compartments. According to medical advice heavy school material should be packed in the compartment closest to the body, while the light school material should be packed in compartments away from the body.

With the objective of reducing the weight of the bag, eighty-page exercise books are recommended for each subject, in the future.

The Education officials also advise children to fasten the waist belt from the front, and also ensure that the bottom edge of the bag is at least four inches above the waist, when carrying it.