The state government in a latest effort to reduce the weight of children’s school bags is mulling over including blank pages in textbooks, so that they do not have to carry extra notebooks. The plan was mooted by School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar earlier this year and is in the discussion stage. The basic idea is to attach blank papers to textbooks so that children will not have to carry extra notebooks.

Those in charge have made some efforts to reduce school bag weight over the years. These suggestion-discussions have rarely fructified into concrete action, though. Some upscale schools have lockers in which students can store their notebooks. Yet, it is not the same for everyone.