Tuesday, August 16 2005 13:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The average weight of a private school student's bag was about four kgs compared with one kg carried by a student of a Delhi Municipal Corporation school,Lok Sabha was informed today (Aug 16, 2005).

Minister of State for HRD M A Fatmi said during Question Hour that the Centre has directed the NCERT to take into account recommendations of the Yash Pal Committee while reformulating the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2005.

"When finalised, the NCFSE will further address the problem of curriculum load on children and save them from mental and physical load," he said.

Fatmi said new steps had been undertaken by the Central Board of Secondary Education on conducting of examinations, which would be implemented from next year.

To a question on enrolment in higher and technical education, he said the enrolment of about 11.4 crore youths between 18 and 23 years of age was estimated at 8.97 per cent.

Sixteen states including Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were below the national average in terms of enrolment in higher and technical education, primarily due to low access and lack of availability of courses in colleges in these states.

"Government was targeting at least 10 per cent of the relevant age group to be enrolled in higher education in the Tenth Plan," Fatmi said.

"The present level of enrolment of students in 326 universities including open universities and affiliated colleges was approximately 120 lakhs," he said.