AP for less homework, lighter bags for kids

Hyderabad: A panel constituted by the Andhra Pradesh Education Department has decided to look into children's side of the story — the problems they face in schools.

A Class 6 student, Sasirekha says, "I would like homework to be cancelled because it is a huge burden on us."

Another Class 6 student, Naveed adds, "School starts at 8 am. I wish I could sleep a little longer."

And these are not the only problems. The panel is also going to look into:

Increased play time.

Lighter school bags.

Adding Class 7 to 9 exam marks to determine the score in class 10 boards.

But doing away with homework could be tough. Close to 3 lakh students across the country sit for the IIT exams every year, and out of them, over half a lakh are from Andhra Pradesh.

And with preparations for the IIT entrance being an integral part of the student's homework, scrapping it completely seems impractical.

Teachers too are not gung ho about the proposal with nothing known on the constitution of the panel.

Gitanjali School Principal, Geeta Karan says, "Who are the people who decide if homework has to be given or not? Have the educationists been taken into consideration? Have they weighed the advantages and disadvantages of giving homework?"

But government authorities say such a deliberation is essential.

Minister for School Education, Damodar Raja Narasimha says, "There has to be a debate, there has to be a discussion. We need to know where we stand and what is wrong with our elementary education system? We also need to figure out the difference between Western education and Indian education? Are our children free in society? Are we encouraging their creativity? Are we tapping their creativity? These are all important issues."

The panel will submit its proposal in February after which a final decision will be taken.

However, the success of the policy — if it is implemented — is doubtful in a state that produces one of the highest number of IIT entrants and coaching classes begin from Class 8.

In the meanwhile, for students, the alarm bells still have to go off at the crack of dawn.

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