Alas! Education department finds difficulty in even surprising schools

Promises are meant to be broken, is an old saying, and the government has proved it right, over and over again.

In a recent series of resolutions, government, despite announcing the routine school bag check, have not conducted the activity for the last 5 months. As per reports, no officials from the school education department have visited schools to check the weight of students' school bags, say activists. It was to be carried out in the first half of every month, but alas, the government has not shown any interest in the same.

The department, in a study and research, has observed that students carry heavy school bags more than their body weight, and as per the guidelines issued by the department, a child's school bag should not weigh more than 10 per cent of the student's body weight.

According to the reports published in Times of India, Swati Patil, the activist who has filed a petition in Bombay High Court said that there has been an increase in the weight of new textbooks and she had sought information from other districts in the state for the same.

Further, in response to the officials, the education department has assured that the surprise check will be conducted post Diwali vacations.