Oman education: Parents want kindergarten students load lessened too

Muscat: Parents of students studying in Indian Schools have welcomed the Central Board of School Education’s (CBSE’s) latest directive on students of Classes 1 and 2 not having to carry schoolbags or be assigned homework.
Read here: Don’t give homework, schoolbags, says CBSE to Indian schools in Oman
However, the parents said CBSE should also include kindergarten (KG) students of Grades 1 and 2 in this directive.
“I don’t see why this move should not involve the kindergarten students of Grades 1 and 2,” asked S Bhowmick, who is the mother of a 4-year-old.
Stressing that the KG students from Grades 1 and 2 are much younger than Class 1 and 2 students, Jagadish, another parent said: “This move should involve the KG 1 and KG 2 students initially and then be slowly introduced for middle-level classes,” he said.
When contacted, Wilson V. George, chairman, Board of Directors of Indian Schools, said they will look into this aspect. “We will follow the guidelines of CBSE.”
While most of the parents are happy with the new rule, some of them have expressed doubts about its strict implementation in all CBSE-affiliated schools.
Many said that while some schools were making genuine efforts to stop students from carrying heavy bags, such rules are being completely ignored at other schools. “Students are overloaded with studies during childhood years when they are expected to play and enjoy life. There should be a balance between study and play,” one of them said.
Another anxious parent said: “They will not be able to compete with students in India if they are not given homework. But at the same time I have seen students are being made to carry all text books on a daily basis and that is increasingly impacting their health.”
Some even advised that teachers can scan textbooks and transfer them to a pen drive and have the students bring these to school. “This will help in projecting lessons in classrooms and reduce the weight added due to heavy textbooks,” one of them said.
Pupils studying in Classes 1 and 2 should not carry schoolbags or be assigned home work, India’s Central Board of Secondary Education stated in a circular recently. There are 19 Indian Schools in Oman, with about 9,000 students studying in Classes 1 and 2.