Toward the close of 2018, the Indian government banned homework for classes I and II, and moved to prescribe schoolbag-weight-limit for specific classes. This move was stirred by health concerns after studies showed that young children were set to suffer chronic back pain, hunched backs and other spinal problems as a result of carrying heavy school bags. Could we be exposing our children to the same risks?
To be able to make informed comparisons, there is need to examine the situation that prompted the move. According to one study by the Associated Chambers and Industry of India, which involved more than 2,500 children and 1,000 parents spread across India’s major cities, over two-thirds of children aged between 7 and 13 were found at risk. The study also found that almost 90 per cent of pre-teen children—whose spines are soft and still developing—were carrying more than 45 per cent of their own body weight on their backs. This heavy weight is due to the weight of lunchboxes as well as books. The risks were found to be even higher if the students had to cover long distances to and from school.
As stipulated in the ban order, the weight of school bags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while the school bag of students of class III to V should weigh between 2 kg to 3 kg. Additionally, the school bag of students of classes VI and VII should not be more than 4 kg, while weight of school bags of classes VIII and IX students should not be above 4.5 kg. Similarly, the school bag of a class X student should not weigh above 5 kg. To make this possible, the government limited homework to specific subjects: Mathematics and English.
Following the ban, three things are being done to ensure appropriate weights. Firstly, schools are liaising with parents to provide school timetables so that students do not carry books they do not need. On the same note, parents were also requested to reduce the weight and size of lunch boxes or packaging. Secondly, schools were issued with directives to either project content or write on the board so that textbooks were used at home for reference. This works well for urban schools but not rural settings. Lastly, there is a substantial reduction of the amount of homework for upper primary and none at all for classes I and II.
As a matter of fact, India’s move to ban homework is supported by research. Harris Cooper, an educational psychologist, who performed a "meta-analysis,” which is a statistical technique for combining numerous studies into the equivalent of one giant study, discovered that homework has substantial benefits at the high school level, with decreased benefits for middle school students and few benefits for elementary students. Going by this, there is no need to force our children into uncalled for disability for something that does not yield substantively to learning. While we may not want to completely eliminate homework, we should make it more authentic, meaningful, and engaging—quality as opposed to quantity.
With all these facts on the table, heavy bags, be it in India or Rwanda, are detrimental to the health of our children. If you haven’t noticed yet, pupils will develop mild back pains which translate to heavy spinal pains and if not checked may result to hunchbacks. If banning or reducing homework will save us the risk, why not? If we can afford school lockers so students only take home what they will use at home, why not? Do we really want to give homework to lower primary children?