Education Ministry Divides Books in Sections to Make Them Lighter
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, March 6
(TBILISI) - The Ministry of Education says that allegedly for September this year school textbooks will be divided in sections to make them lighter for kids to carry, as parents frequently complain about “very heavy” school bags, saying they are provoking health problems in children.
Deputy Education Minister Temur Murgulia claims that both the look and content of the new books will be changed.
“We will have better books from the next academic year than we used to have and they will be lighter as well,” the deputy minister stated.
Georgia’s Former Education Minister Aleksandre Jejelava promised in 2016 to introduce a new law that would radically improve the health and wellbeing of schoolchildren.
He stated that children were forced to carry heavy bags to and from school, and in 2017 new rules would be introduced that would limit the weight of school backpacks.
Jejelava claimed that the issue of heavy school bags has been talked about for many years but hasn’t been the focus of the Education Ministry.
For many years parents have spoken out on social media and various petitions against heavy school bags have been done.
