A Philippine lawmaker has recently proposed a bill to prevent schools from giving homework on weekends for elementary and high school students. Sam Versoza, a member of the House of Representatives, argues that too much homework causes students to fall behind their peers in other countries such as Finland, China, South Korea, and Japan. Mr. Versoza claims that one hour of homework per weekday should be more than enough, and anything over that is a source of undue stress for both the parents and students.
He also places the blame for high dropout rates among students on their increasingly cumbersome workloads, making school no longer fun. In response to this, the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi declared that the workload of students up to class 8 should be reduced by 25% and that of students in higher classes should be reduced by 20%. Their pledge was that the future of kids should not revolve around heavy backpacks and outdated syllabi, so they instead proposed a renewed focus on skills, theatre, art, music, and sports.
However, the government’s control over private schools remains something to be desired. They often assign more homework and assignments than the government-allowed workload, citing the result of the Class X examination as a key factor in determining admission rates to Class XI. Their actions are clearly impacting the well-being of their students, according to research from Lewis and Clark College in 2018, which concluded that chronic stress from excessive homework results in many negative physical and psychological health outcomes. This also carries over to college where the stress can sometimes lead to severe mental health issues.
To protect the welfare of students, the government of India should look into the legislation proposed by the Philippine lawmaker. Such legislation may help reduce the burden on students and potentially increase their learning outcomes. For the same cause, parents too should also take into account the health and well-being of their children while formulating a schooling system for them. It is only through balanced education and a well-rounded lifestyle that students can strengthen their future and avoid the stress and discomfort associated with overworking.
