Questions about the weight of school backpacks and textbooks were raised by parents during a meeting with residents of Alamudun district, attended by President Sadyr Japarov. One parent expressed concern that overly heavy books could negatively affect children's health, in particular their kidneys. In addition, questions were raised about the content of the educational materials.

Review procedures and alternatives for students

Responding to the issues raised, Education Minister Dogdurkul Kendirbaeva explained that textbooks undergo strict review. She said that educational materials undergo four types of expertise based on the state standard, and only after that are they distributed to schools.

  • Modern textbooks are designed with children's all-round development in mind
  • On the issue of textbook weight, the minister issued relevant instructions to the heads of all schools and education departments
  • Students are given the opportunity to use electronic versions of textbooks to do their homework, leaving printed books at school
Modern textbooks are aimed at children's all-round development. As for their weight, we have given relevant instructions to the heads of all schools and education departments. Electronic versions of textbooks are also available. Students can leave books at school and use their electronic versions at home to do their homework
Education Minister Dogdurkul Kendirbaeva

Context

The meeting was attended by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. The education minister is Dogdurkul Kendirbaeva. Alamudun district is a district whose population, according to data as of 2009, was 148,032 people.