Will students get a reprieve from carrying heavy bags?

With just around three weeks left until back-to-school season in the Sultanate of Oman, the focus shifts to the welfare of students, especially those in lower grades who have to carry the burden of not only their studies but also the weight of heavy school bags.

Since 2023, the Ministry of Education has been taking steps to reduce the weight of school bags by limiting the number of books that students in grades 1-4 need to carry each day to school.

The plan is to restrict homework on weekends and limit the number of notebooks to two by combining subjects; one for Arabic, Islamic studies and social studies, and a second for science and math. This will reduce the weight of school bags to below 10 per cent of the child's body weight, as per international standards.

The ministry's decision follows a longstanding demand from parents, students and teachers to reduce the size of school bags.

In a study conducted across educational governorates by the Ministry of Education, it was found that the bags of primary students, including books, a water bottle and a lunch box, weighed 4-5kg, which is more than 15 per cent of the students' body weight. According to the Ministry of Education, students in grades 1-4 have an average weight of 24-30 kg.

The ministry also recommended that parents and students avoid trolley bags and that schools should provide lockers for students to store some of their stationery and books. The Ministry of Education has already issued a notice in this regard and provided lockers for storing books instead of carrying them home every day, which will be supervised by specialists.

While parents welcomed the measures taken by the Ministry of Education, they argued that the actual implementation of such regulations requires cooperation from teachers. "We want our children to go to school with less burden on their shoulders, but there are some textbooks and notebooks that they have to carry daily. Some guidelines to adjust timetables will help avoid taking all books to school every day," said Maryam al Musallami, a parent. She added that this rule should apply to students in the age group of 10 to 12 years.

Some teachers that the Observe spoke to mentioned that this circular is easy to implement if there is cooperation among all stakeholders. "Some students come to school with books for subjects that are not scheduled for the day. We cannot check all bags all the time. But overall, I welcome any step to ease the burden of students coming to school for studies," said a grade one teacher.