PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday passed the “School Bags Weight Limitation Bill 2020” aimed to regulate the weight of school bags for children.
The bill was presented by Education Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahram Khan Tarakai on Friday in the assembly, while JUI-F member Mahmood Bhatti opposed the bill.
The permissible weight of school bag for pre-Grade-1 would be 1.5 kg, Grade-1 2.4 kg, Grade-2 (2.6,) Grade-3 (3 kg), Grade-4 (4.4) kg, Grade-5 (5.3) kg, Grade-6 (5.4) kg, Grade-7 (5.8)kg, Grade-8 (5.9) kg, Grade-9 (6kg), Grade-10 (6.5kg) , Grade-11 (7kg) and Grade-12 (7kg).
According to the bill, action would be taken against the principals of government schools and fine up to Rs200,000 would be imposed on private educational institutions over the violation.
In October, the provincial education minister had said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the first province to introduce such legislation. Doctors stated that heavy schoolbags lead to strain, fatigue, and physical discomfort among children and affect their learning ability.
