Karnataka high court orders notice to government, association on minimising weight of school bags

BENGALURU: A high court division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe on Friday ordered notice to the government and the Recognised Unaided Private Schools Association (RUPSA) in response to a public interest litigation.
The PIL filed by L Ramesh Naik, a Tumakuru-based advocate, sought for issuance of directions to the government for appropriate action to minimise weight of school bags carried by primary schoolkids across the state.
Another direction has been sought for implementation of the Centre's Policy on School Bag- 2020 with respect to weight of the school bags of primary school children.
Citing the Kannada adage 'Indina Makkale Naalina Prajegalu (Today's children are tomorrow's citizens), the petitioner claimed that if one makes an attempt to visualise the schooling process in the present-day scenario, an image of a child with a bag on the shoulder comes to mind and the posture and facial expression give an impression that the bag is very heavy for him/her.
"Various studies by health experts say that heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of students. The heavy school bag has severe/adverse physical effects on growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees. Hence, any inaction on the part of the state government to reduce the weight of school bags violates the fundamental right of children/students as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the petitioner stated.
According to the petitioner, Article 15(3), under part III Fundamental Rights of the Constitution enables the state to make special provision for women and children.
"Article 21 deals with the life and personal liberty of a person. Article 39(f), under part IV Directive Principles of the State, imposes moral obligation on the state to make provision for healthy development of the children," the petitioner stated, while contending that the state government has been negligent in making a special provision regarding healthy development of children.