The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) said in a statement yesterday that it was concerned about students’ schoolbags being overweight, urging students to check that their backpacks are not heavier than 15 percent of the respective student’s body weight.
According to the statement, since September the bureau has visited schools no less than 150 times to monitor the weight of around 50,000 students’ schoolbags. The statement noted that 96 percent of the schools have installed lockers for the students and 97 percent of them have water dispensers. The statement pointed out that according to the last two inspection results, the weight of schoolbags in 30 more primary schools has improved significantly.
The statement said that schools should refer to the bureau’s inspection results and implement a suitable plan to decrease the weight of their students’ schoolbags. The statement said that usually schools should consider the weight of their students’ textbooks and also consider optimising class schedules, strengthening communication with parents, and showing students the proper way to pack their schoolbags. The statement underlined that each school should urge students to utilise school storage for textbooks and notebooks as well as suggest the students take an empty water bottle to school instead of a full bottle.
The statement pointed out that the bureau has been liaising with publishers to consider book weight and has been financially supporting schools to install storage areas and water dispensers.
The statement concluded that the main reasons the backpacks are overweight are because students use luggage-style schoolbags, take unnecessary items to school, have too much homework and use an excessive amount of stationery. The statement stressed that in order to solve the overweight schoolbag issue, the bureau, schools, teachers, parents and students need to coordinate their efforts to ensure students’ physical development.
This undated handout photo provided by the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) yesterday shows a teacher weighing a student’s schoolbag while DSEDJ officials are monitoring the process.
