HC rule on overweight schoolbags
The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why a directive should not be issued to formulate a law on childrens carrying of schoolbags weighing more than 10 per cent of their body weight.
The secretary of the law and education ministries, director general of the directorate of primary education and the chairman of National Human Rights Commission have been made respondents to the rule. A divisional bench of Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Ashraful Kamal also asked the respondents to come up with their reply to the rule within two weeks.
The media published and broadcast several reports on childrens carrying of heavy school bags and the problems arising from carrying such weights. On this backdrop, Supreme Court lawyers ASM Masud Hossain Dolon , Ziaul Haque, and Anwarul Karim filed a writ petition with the apex court on August 9 seeking its directives on the issue. After a hearing on the writ, the HC issued the rule yesterday.
