Bengaluru: School kids in Karnataka are going to have some comfort with the state government deciding to ensure that school bags carried by them weighs only ten per cent of their body weight.

A circular, issued by the department of primary and secondary education, set clear guidelines on the upper limits that school bags can weigh. As per the circular, bags of students of Class I and II can only weigh around 1.5kg to 2kg while those of Class III, IV and V can weigh 2kg to 3kg.

Students from Class VI-VIII can have their bags weighing only up to 3kg-4kg and those of Class IX and X can weigh up to 5kg. The direction is applicable across the state.

The move comes in the backdrop of a 2016-17 study conducted by the department of state education research and training in association with the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.

The circular also stated that students of Classes I and II should not be given homework and schools are directed to observe every third Saturday of the month as ‘Bagless Day’.