Burden of School Bags on Children’s Shoulders

March 5, 2026

Although the SCERT (State Council of Educational Research and Training) in Punjab has issued this order for schoolchildren in the state to reduce the burden of school bags on their shoulders, it is so pertinent that it should be implemented nationwide to reduce the burden of heavy school bags on the shoulders of school-going children. This strict order issued by the SCERT of Punjab has been received by the Sub-District Education Officers (DEOs) for all primary and secondary level classes in Punjab. It states that this order will be applicable to all government, aided, and private schools. No child will bring a school bag to pre-primary classes.

The order clearly states that these heavy school bags are causing children to complain of back, neck, shoulder, knee, and muscle pain at an early age. Schools are meant to maintain children’s intellectual development as well as their physical development. Therefore, the implementation of this new order is crucial. For grades 1 and 2, school bags will not be heavier than 1.6 to 2.2 kg. Even in grades 11 and 12, children will not come to school carrying bags weighing more than 3.50 to 5 kg. In our vernacular, there’s a saying, “The bag of a worthless son is heavy.”

Soon, children began carrying bed-like bags on their backs. Physiologists have already stated that children in most parts of the country are being born short. With increasingly demanding studies, children should be born sharp, but carrying heavy school bags may make them disinterested in education. In fact, true education should have an equal balance between intellectual development and physical development.

Therefore, this order has been issued so that Punjab’s children can happily study new and digital education while being healthy, rather than dropping out from school while carrying heavy school bags. But despite this order, education experts say that the acceptance of the new education policy and digital education depends on skilled teachers and children enthusiastic about the new education system.

Not only should the burden of school bags be reduced, but it should also be ensured that a group of skilled teachers is created along with the changing education system. Children should be removed from traditional methods of teaching and prepared for new, vocational education. While a paperless education system is being envisioned these days, why the burden of school bags?