Kerala government’s education department has approved the draft report on measures to reduce school bag weight. The state government’s Curriculum Steering Committee has also decided to take steps to abolish the concept of backbenchers from the next academic year

Making these annoucements on Thursday, Kerala’s General Education and Labour Minister V Sivankutty said these two reforms are being taken to bring qualitative changes in the state’s general education sector.

The proposed measures focus on reducing the weight of school bags to ensure the physical and mental well-being of students, and creating a classroom environment without ‘back benchers’ as part of the democratisation of classrooms, an official statement by the department cited by news agency ANI said on Thursday .

Earlier, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) had been entrusted with studying these proposals in detail. Based on this, reports were prepared and discussed in detail at today’s State Curriculum Steering Committee meeting. The committee subsequently approved the draft report.

“We want to make the schools more child-friendly and democratic. Accordingly, there is a recommendation to reduce the weight of the schoolbags. There will be steps to scientifically reduce the weight after factoring in the physical fitness of the students. Besides, back benches in classrooms will be abolished to ensure that all students get equal attention and there is a democratic academic atmosphere in the classes. Accordingly, seating arrangements in classrooms will undergo changes,” Sivankutty was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Draft to be made public soon

To ensure broader social participation in the education process, the draft report has been placed on public consultation. The report will be made available on the SCERT website. Teachers, parents, students and the general public can submit their suggestions and opinions on the proposals until January 20.

After considering public feedback, the General Education Department aims to implement these changes in schools from the start of the next academic year. The Minister said that these reforms would help make schools more child-friendly and democratic.

‘Horseshoe’ seating arrangement

Already some schools in Kerala have decided to go for a “horseshoe” seating arrangement in classrooms. A few schools in Kannur, Thrissur and Kollam districts have introduced the horseshoe, or semi-circle, seating arrangement, the Indian Express report said.

In this arrangement, students are seated in the perimeter of the classroom, facing each other. The teacher is also able to have a face-to-face interaction with all students who happen to sit in such a layout, with the teacher moving in the middle of the room. This is unlike using seating arrangement in classrooms where teacher stands at the front at the students sit in rows one after another in a room.

Movie Inspiration?

The new seating arrangement in some of the schools is said to inspired by a 2024 Malayalam film, Sthanarthi Sreekuttan. The film, directed by Vinesh Viswanathan, is about a ‘backbencher’, Sreekuttan, who revolts against the traditional classroom arrangement.

In the climax of the movie, the row seating in the classroom is replaced with a U-shaped arrangement.

The concept can be traced to the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP). The programme, launched by the Union Government in 1994 in five other states besides Kerala, recommended flexible seating arrangements. However, an inclination towards the traditional row system could not make its mass adoption a reality.