City sees more schools with lighter backpacks

Some 31 further schools have lightened the weight of their school bags when compared with the last school year, education chief Kong Chi Meng has recently disclosed.

In reply to lawmaker Ella Lei’s written inquiry, the director of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEDJ) referred to the data. He added that the average weight of primary school students’ school bags dropped from 4.14 kilograms in the 19/20 school year to 3.81 kilograms in the first spot check in the 21/22 school year.

Commenting on the finding, Kong attributed the change to cooperation between students and their families, as well as teachers. In addition, the education chief pointed out that schools in the city are “basically” equipped with lockers and drinking fountains.

Until that point, his reply focused on the first question the lawmaker raised in the inquiry. Emphasizing that the guideline aiming at reducing school bag weight in the DSEDJ’s “School Operation Guide” had been implemented for some time, the lawmaker wanted to learn about its overall impact.

“So far, how many schools have met the standard? Are the overall results as expected?” Lei asked in her first question.

Carrying on, the lawmaker pointed out that the current “School Operation Guide” stipulates that the weight of students’ school bags should not exceed 15% of the students’ body weight.

As such, she asked whether the bureau would consider optimizing the relevant indicator and whether there would be supporting measures.

In response, the education chief did not foresee any change to the indicator in the near future. In contrast, he emphasized that the indicator was agreed upon among professional groups. The 15% indicator is good for the protection of students’ ankles, knees and hip joints.

Subsidies have also been offered to higher education institutions to evaluate the health of students’ bones, “so as to assist schools and families to get […] timely follow-up on students’ conditions,” Kong said.