Schools and parents are reminded to co-operate in an effort to reduce the weight of children's schoolbags.

With the new school year beginning next week, the Education & Manpower Bureau said it is concerned about overweight schoolbags, in particular the additional stress and fatigue they can cause primary and junior-secondary students.

According to precautionary measures recommended by the Department of Health, students should avoid carrying bags which exceed 15% of their body weight for a long period of time.

At the beginning of the school year, the bureau advised schools to conduct a campaign to draw the attention of teachers, parents and students to the problem.

For example, they can conduct random checks on schoolbags and inform parents if they are overweight.

The bureau also suggested that teachers pay extra attention to the weight of students' bags and give individual help and advice, especially in the case of younger primary pupils.

To allow schools more time to review their timetables and choose suitable textbooks, the bureau in June issued a set of guidelines and a pamphlet on how to reduce the weight of schoolbags.

According to the guidelines, timetables should be arranged to minimise the number of subjects each day, while lessons which require students to bring a relatively large number of textbooks, exercise books and heavy materials should be spread evenly over the week.

In selecting textbooks, schools should take weight and size into account, as well as educational value for teaching and learning.

Teachers are also encouraged to use loose-leaf or single-page worksheets when giving homework assignments and to distribute the worksheets to students one at a time.

The bureau said all schools have been asked to draw parents' attention to the adverse effect of overweight schoolbags and to seek home-school co-operation in dealing with the problem.

Parents should select schoolbags and items which are made of lightweight materials. They should also remind children to pack their schoolbags according to the daily timetable and discourage them from bringing unnecessary items to school.