CHENNAI : CBSE schools in the city have started dropping subjects such as General Knowledge, Moral Science and increased the duration of physical education classes in order to comply with the recent circular that re-iterated reducing the bag load of the children.The CBSE, earlier this month, issued a circular stating that affiliated schools must scrupulously follow regulations on reducing the bag-load and homework burden on children. The circular emphasised that schools must not ask students to carry more books than the maximum number prescribed for each class.
Apart from cutting down on subjects, some schools have changed subjects such as computer science as fully practical modules, increased the use of smart classes and audio-visual lessons and replaced note-books with individual test sheets. For example, the CBSE has not prescribed any book for Computer Science upto class 8. “Instead of asking students to carry the books we prescribed, we have converted all computer science classes to practical ones and reduced the number of theoretical tests,” said K Navamani, Principal, Angappa Senior Secondary School, Coimbatore.
Another principal from a popular CBSE school in Chennai said that their management had increased the number of physical education classes and introduced new periods such as Yoga and Gardening to replace the theoretical subjects. D Vasanthi, a teacher from a CBSE School in Gopalapuram, said that the school had doubled certain classes like language so that students don’t have to carry a heavy bag. Students, however, say that the changes barely make any difference to them because they carry so many other things to the school anyway.
The circular has also reminded schools of the recent order by the Madras High Court to scrap homework and school bags up to class 2. Teachers say that parents are, however, unwilling to comply with the regulation even if schools try to. “In the parent-teachers meeting, parents urge that their children are given homework so that they can start engaging in their wards’ academics early on,” said Nirmala Kanthan, a primary school teacher.
