Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Feb 23: As Goa State Council for Educational Research and Training (GSCERT) gears up to implement the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) across all grades from the upcoming academic year, it has introduced measures aimed at significantly reducing the weight of school bags for students up to Class VIII.

In a circular issued to schools across the state, the council directed that only 100-page notebooks be used per subject. Schools have been advised that a single notebook may be divided into sections for multiple purposes such as dictation, tests, copywriting, and classwork.

Separate notebooks for homework have been expressly disallowed, with all home practice work to be completed in the same book.

The council further instructed schools to provide worksheets for home assignments “only when absolutely necessary” to avoid adding extra materials to students’ bags.

Additionally, GSCERT announced that newly developed NEP-aligned textbooks and reference materials will be supplied free of cost to all government and government-aided schools. Schools have been barred from prescribing any additional textbooks, workbooks, or reference materials beyond those issued by the council.

The move addresses long-standing concerns raised by parents over the physical strain caused by heavy school bags. Earlier guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education, based on recommendations from the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, had already mandated that a school bag’s weight should not exceed 10 per cent of a child’s body weight.

Alongside student-focused reforms, the council has also reiterated norms regarding teachers’ workload under the Goa, Daman and Diu School Education Act and Rules. As per Rule 20 (1), para 2, a teacher’s workload should ordinarily not exceed 21 hours per week, inclusive of non-academic subjects.

Teachers may additionally be assigned up to 200 hours annually for remedial teaching and supervised study sessions, beyond their regular weekly schedule, as determined by the head of the school.

Where workload demands exceed existing capacity, the Directorate of Education will sanction additional teachers on a contract or lecture basis. The council has also directed schools to utilise the services of existing computer teachers for vocational education instruction in Classes VI to VIII.

With these measures, GSCERT aims to balance academic reform under NEP 2020 with student well-being and manageable teacher workloads.