Schools oppose no homework & no books policy, say it’ll stunt learning

BENGALURU: School managements of Karnataka have raised objections to the “no homework, no books and no bags” policy advocated by the draft norms released by the Government Textbook Society and Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) on September 3. They feel it will affect the natural process of learning.
There should be two “no-bag days” per month so that students get some respite from lugging the excessive burden of books, states the draft. The maximum permitted weight of the schoolbag shouldn’t exceed more than 10% of the student’s body weight, the norms say.



“We object to two no-bag days a month. Instead, there should be a holiday on the second Saturday of every month so that students get to spend time with parents and families. This should the norm for students of all boards,” said Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Management of Private Schools, Karnataka.

The draft norms prescribe that children from LKG to class 2 should be made to carry not more than 2-3 kg of books and those from classes 4 to 7 should be lugging not more than 3-4 kg. “No study has been done to prove that carrying a specific weight will or won’t harm students. A proper study should be conducted and measures should to be taken. One can’t limit the learning process by limiting the weight of books students carry,” Kumar reasoned.

The association has also taken exception to several other proposals made by the draft norms, including ones which say no homework should be given to students from LKG to class 2, individual lockers must be provided to each student and separate uniform to children into sport.

“A child needs reinforcement but not of the boring kind. If you can construct innovative applications based on real-life learning situations, that’s the ideal thing to do. Not giving homework is not a solution to lessen the burden on young kids. Parents want their child to be engaged in learning activities at home too and think constructively. Homework is actually a recounting of what they have studied in school and is part of the learning process,” said Srinivasan M, president, Management of Independent CBSE Schools Association (MICSA).

School managements said that 90% of the schools in Karnataka are budget schools and it would be difficult for them to arrange personal lockers for each student. The norm shouldn’t be made compulsory, they argued.

‘Idea is to finish learning process in class’

VP Niranjan Aradhya, fellow and programme head (Right to Education), Centre for Child and the Law, NLSIU, said he’s surprised by the objections raised by school managements. All stakeholders were consulted and their consent was taken before the draft norms were finalised, said Aradhya, who was part of the formulation process.

“No homework doesn’t mean no learning. The idea behind the recommendation is to complete the learning process within school hours. Students shouldn’t be harassed by the excessive load of homework, which eats into their leisure and play time,” he said.

According to Unicef’s Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC), children have a right to rest and engage in leisure activities. These global guildelines need to be respected and adhered to, he added.

Other projects needed to keep kids busy

I doubt whether this no homework, no book policy will work. If not homework, schools will have to provide some constructive projects to children so that they are engaged at home. We can’t allocate more time to play

Suchi Mitra, mother of a six-year-old girl

Activity books should be left in school

It’s good if students are relieved of the schoolbag burden. But no-bag day is not the solution. Instead, there should be a proposal on reducing the number of books and leaving behind activity books in school itself. Just reading and understanding at home can help

Pankaj Puri, mother of an eight-year-old girl