UP Introduces 10-Day Bagless School Scheme for Class 6-8 Students

Uttar Pradesh has introduced a novel 10-day bagless school program for all its government schools as part of an effort to make learning fun and reduce the academic burden on their students in Classes 6 to 8.

This initiative supports the NEP and brings a shift from rote learning of lessons to activity-based, hands-on, and experiential learning, helping students understand concepts in a practical way.

For this, SCERT has developed guidelines under the title 'Anandam' or Joyful Learning. The idea behind the guidelines is to bring down the student's level of stress and make them learn through fun and games rather than just lessons inside classrooms. In this process, on 10 bagless days, students would go on educational tours, attend creative workshops, and participate in skill-based activities that would foster learning and development in a much healthier manner.

According to the Director General General of School Education, Monika Rani,  the particular initiative focussed on mental and physical development of students by improving their thinking capacity. 

What Will Students Do During the Bagless Days?

Skill-oriented learning activities for the students will take place, teaching practical knowledge that could be applied in real life.

They participate in different creative and thematic workshops: art, music, science, storytelling, and other playful activities. Schools will therefore arrange educative trips at appropriate places like museums, farms, industries, and science centres to help the students understand real-world applications.There will be group activities that encourage teamwork, communication, and collaboration among the students. 

According to TOI, The Anandam module contains 34 activities categorized into three broad areas  namely science, environment, and technology; public offices, local industries and businesses; and art, culture and history. To begin the programme smoothly, Monika Rani has instructed all basic education officers to ensure that block education officers give proper orientation to headmasters and teachers during their monthly meetings in upper primary schools, composite schools and KGBVs on the fourth Saturday of this month. The bagless day activities shall be conducted on 3rd and 4th Saturdays of November and January 2026, all Saturdays in December and the 1st and 2nd Saturdays of February. The head teachers have been instructed to arrange the labs, equipment, projectors and first aid kits as per the requirements besides working with local artisans, craftsmen, experts, and community members for successful conduct of these activities.