The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the weight of children’s schoolbags. The School Bags Weight Limitation Bill 2020 was presented by the KP Minister for Education, Shahram Khan Tarakai, in the Assembly, and it will be implemented within a week.
Under the new law, the maximum permissible weight of school bags for different classes is as follows.
| Grade 1 | 2.4 kg |
| Grade 2 | 2.6 kg |
| 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 | 6 kg |
| Grade 10 | 6.5 kg |
| Grade 11 | 7 kg |
| Grade 12 | 7 kg |
KP is the first province to introduce such legislation. All the government and private educational institutions in KP are bound to abide by it, and a fine of Rs. 200,000 will be imposed on the violators.
This is an important initiative as heavy school bags lead to ache, exhaustion, and physical discomfort among the school children that carry them. According to doctors, the weight also affects their attentiveness and ability to learn.
