Mumbai: The Maharashtra Education Department has decided to reverse its 2023 initiative of integrating blank pages for note-taking into textbooks for Classes 2 to 8. Introduced to address the challenges of heavy school bags and limited study materials for economically weaker students, the decision will be discontinued from the academic year 2025-26.
The scheme, which began in the 2023-24 academic year, aimed to reduce the weight of schoolbags and provide students with additional space for notes. However, a review conducted in December 2024 revealed that the blank pages were underutilised by students, who continued carrying separate notebooks along with the modified textbooks. This rendered the initiative less effective in achieving its intended goals.
The Maharashtra State Textbook Production and Curriculum Research Board (Balbharati), in a letter dated 18 December 2024, acknowledged the experimental nature of the scheme, which had been subject to periodic evaluation. Despite the modifications, the issue of heavy school bags persisted, and students' reliance on notebooks continued.
As a result, the Government has annulled the previous resolution dated 8 March 2023. Starting from the 2025-26 academic year, textbooks will no longer include integrated blank pages, reverting to the previous practice of providing standard textbooks. The move aims to explore more effective solutions to the challenges students face in terms of academic materials and well-being.
