New guidelines for schools to monitor the weight of schoolbags will be out in time for the start of the coming school year, Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) Deputy Director Leong Vai Kei said yesterday, acknowledging the “serious situation” where children are carrying heavy schoolbags to school.
Leong made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony of Fu Luen School run by the Macau Women’s General Association in Areia Preta district.
Two weeks ago, DSEJ Director Lou Pak Sang noted research shows that Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils’ satchels are seriously overweight, pointing out that according to the bureau’s guidelines, a pupil’s schoolbag should not weigh over 10 percent of his or her body weight.
A domestic helper (front) carries two schoolbags near S. Francisco Garden late last month. Photo: Monica Leong
