DNA: Jammu: Thursday, July 28, 2016.
The
Maharashtra government on Wednesday informed the Bombay High Court that
majority of schools in the state were complying with its directive and
undertaking steps to reduce weight of school bags.
Government
pleader Poornima Kantharia submitted a report from different areas of the
state, which stated that over 2,000 government officers carried out random
checks in over 17,000 schools and found that several steps, as suggested by the
government, were being adopted by schools to reduce the weight of schools bags.
As per the
report, there are 4,130 schools in Mumbai. School bags of 2,710 students were
checked, and it was found that 89.85% students were carrying lighter bags.
After
perusing the report, a division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Amjad Sayed
said, "There has been substantial progress and implementation of the
resolution is an ongoing process." The court then directed the government
to file a compliance report on the schools' progress and posted the matter for
further hearing on October 10.
Social
activist Swati Patil had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in this
regard. Appearing for Patil, advocate Nitesh Nevashe argued that the government
resolution was not properly implemented. He had also sought information under
the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which he is yet to receive.
The court,
however, told him to avoid filing an RTI application as the government was
submitting its progress report to the court and to him. As per recommendations
mentioned in the resolution, schools have been directed to take various steps
such as using tablets, one textbook for allied subjects, providing lockers,
allowing children to keep books in schools, and so on.
The
resolution was issued after a government-appointed committee had noted that the
school bags were so heavy that 60% of students below the age of 10 were
suffering from orthopaedic and stress-induced ailments.
.JPG)
.JPG)
