is homework banned in india

The no-homework proposal by Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar has triggered a heated debate with educationists standing united against it. At a time when ‘homework – to give or not to give’ has become the most discussed topic on school campuses, it has finally brought attention to the pressing issue of the structure-less nature of homework with no guidelines.

Although educationists have criticised the proposal by the minister, according to most of them, the government should prepare a structure with help from experts on how to make homework effective so that it is not considered a burden on either the student or their parents.

Importance of homework

The homework, as expressed by educationists, is much more than just completing the study tasks given by teachers. It instills the behaviour of self-study or revision which is very useful for the academic growth of students as they move to higher classes, they said.

Basanti Roy, former secretary of the Maharashtra State Board, said: “Homework develops a feeling of accountability among children as well as teaches them the importance of consistency in efforts. It also ensures accountability on part of teachers as they know what the children have understood until now. Considering the time and other constraints in a classroom setting, this gauging of individual progress is not possible in a class.”

In another approach, homework, as explained by Vasant Kalpande, a respected educationist in Maharashtra, is the way to make a parent also a contributor to a child’s academic journey. “Asking the child about completing homework and overseeing the child doing homework are very important for parents to know where their ward stands,” said Kalpande.

No substitute for homework

Some of the direct effects of the absence of homework, according to many educationists, is what the children do in that extra free time. “Empty mind is a devil’s workshop,” said Ambarsinha Magar, principal of Barve Nagar Municipal School from Ghatkopar, who shared how he is already struggling to ensure that children are on the right track with ample distractions like mobile phones and the internet.

Francis Joseph from School Leaders Network pointed out how there is no way of monitoring if the child is free and using that time for some productive tasks. “There may be homework by parents or tuition classes. Moreover, the basic assumption that if there is no homework, children will get time to participate in extracurricular activities is flawed as this depends on multiple factors, especially the home environment,” said Joseph.

Taking the argument ahead, Magar spoke about how no homework meant a large number of his students would not be studying at all. “Parents of many of the students I cater to are daily-wage workers, domestic helps among all. They do not have time to look at homework, let alone see what their wards are doing at home when they are away. Homework ensures that these children are spending a significant amount of time at home studying.”

Steps needed

Homework at most schools is not engaging for children who are average or below average in academics and not challenging enough for those having above-average capabilities. “This calls for the need for homework prepared by teachers with application-based knowledge,” said Kalpande.

To make this more engaging, Roy shares how teachers can also create target groups based on their grasping levels and design customised homework for different sets of students. “Instead of banning homework, teachers need to get training to be more creative in forms of assignments, projects found in tasks of day-to-day life which will complement the curriculum of the specific class,” said Roy.

Adding to this point of view, Dr Veena Shrivastava, campus head of the Gopi Birla Memorial School, said: “Homework should comprise self-study, comprehension, analysis, as the child learns self-study,” For this, according to Joseph, schools require planning in fixing homework for different classes.

While at Magar’s BMC-run school, the teachers are instructed that on a single day, not more than two subjects will have homework. At Orchids, the international school in Yari Road, the authorities ensure that homework is not a mindless task given because schooling is not enough.

Anuradha Premnath, principal of the school, said: “While assigning homework, we are making a plan of what the children should be studying at home for that particular day. It is used not only as a tool of recapitulation but also at times lets the child do some kind of research on what they would be learning the next day as a flipped class activity.

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India bans homework and heavy schoolbags to prevent spinal damage

There are fears that children could develop back pain and even hunchbacks by carrying heavy books in their rucksacks.

Tuesday 27 November 2018 16:02, UK

The Indian government has told schools to stop giving students homework and heavy books to prevent spinal damage.

Weight guidelines have been issued for school bags depending on a child's age after studies showed heavy loads can affect soft, developing spines.

Teachers have also been told to not give children in grades one and two homework so they do not need to carry heavy books home.

A survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India found 68% of pre-teen children might suffer from mild back pain which can develop into chronic pain and later into a hunchback.

More than 2,500 children and 1,000 parents in major cities were surveyed, with more than 88% of children from seven to 13-years-old carrying more than 45% of their body weight on their backs.

Mother-of-two Rashmi Tapke, said heavy schoolbags are a reflection of poor time-table planning by schools.

"If they [schools] plan, they can repeat the subjects taught and thus reduce the load. My kids find it difficult to carry so many books," she said.

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In Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is, full schoolbags should not exceed 10% of the child's body weight.

Many schools there are now using white boards and projectors so children do not have to carry text books.

More than 90,000 people have signed the petition - have you?

However, children in large parts of rural India have to walk long distances with their heavy schoolbags.

Some cross rivers with books on their heads to get to school.

"My frail daughter has to haul about 4-5kgs of books in her school bag and also carry her lunch box and water bottle in a separate bag," said driver Rajinder Shukla, whose child goes to school in Uttar Pradesh state.

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You Think Your Kid's School Backpack Is Heavy? See What's Going On In India!

Sushmita Pathak

A child leaves for school in a village in India. Last November, the Indian government announced new rules limiting the weight of school bags depending on a child's age. But the rules are not always enforced. Punit Paranjpe /AFP/Getty Images hide caption

A child leaves for school in a village in India. Last November, the Indian government announced new rules limiting the weight of school bags depending on a child's age. But the rules are not always enforced.

Imagine this — you're going to school, and you hear that the government has banned homework. Wouldn't that be the best day ever?

Well, it actually happened in India. The government said there would be no homework for students in grades one and two. The reason: heavy school bags.

Last November, the government announced new rules limiting the weight of school bags depending on a child's age.

Students of grades one and two would be allowed to carry bags weighing only at most about 3 pounds. For pupils studying in grades three and four, the weight limit was 6.6 pounds. There are limits set up through grade 10, where the cap is 11 pounds.

The rules also set limits on homework so little kids won't have to carry extra books home. (They almost always carry textbooks home because schools rarely provide lockers.)

But not every parent is convinced that the rules are working.

One afternoon in Mumbai, at the end of the school day, Swati Patil is waiting outside the building.

Patil is a parent — and a backpack activist. She pulls out a scale from her bag and places it on the ground. She's here to weigh kids' backpacks. Her first candidate is a shy seventh-grader wearing a red hairband. Patil asks the girl to step on the scale, first without her backpack. She weighs 31 kilos (about 68 pounds). But with her backpack ... she's at 37 kilos.

That means her backpack weighs 6 kilos – about 13 pounds. That's a violation of the rules passed by the Indian government.

It's not the only heavy backpack in school circles.

Vishnu Kumar Chheda, a fifth-grader who studies in Mumbai, feels very tired when he comes home from school every day.

"I'm not able to go outside to play cricket with my friends," he says. "My back hurts a lot."

His backpack weighs 22 pounds.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says the weight of bags shouldn't be more than 10 to 20 percent of the child's weight. But a 2016 survey by an Indian trade association showed that 88 percent of 7-to-13-year-olds were carrying backpacks nearly half their body weight.

Studies have shown that carrying excessive loads can cause musculoskeletal disorders in kids.

Dr. Shreedhar Archik, an orthopedic surgeon in Mumbai, says putting a heavy load on a child's growing skeleton can alter posture.

"Sometimes these children develop a posture which can take two years to correct. We have to give them exercise to correct posture," says Archik.

Indian lawmakers have been discussing the backpack burden for the past 30 years. In a parliamentary speech in 1989, novelist and lawmaker R.K. Narayan called for abolishing heavy school bags. He described how children "develop a stoop and hang their arms forward like a chimpanzee while walking."

As Patil has found in her spot checks, the new rules aren't always enforced.

"Imagine an inspector catching a class 3 student's bag weighing more than 2.3 kg [about 5 pounds]. The headmistress will perhaps empty the child's water bottle or throw the lunchbox out to bring the bag within the prescribed limit," Krishna Kumar, former director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training, wrote in an op-ed piece .

The government's decisions are not implemented, Kumar states in an email to NPR. There's a "gap between central and state [government] policies," he adds.

Patil says she has interviewed school principals and parents who weren't even aware of the rules.

"The rules are just on paper," she says.

A Mumbai-based homemaker and social activist, Patil started a campaign against heavy school bags a few years ago when she found out that her skinny sixth-grade son was carrying 15 pounds on his back.

"As a mother, I was really worried," Patil says.

In 2015, she filed a petition in a Mumbai court demanding that the government take action to reduce the weight of backpacks. The court ordered authorities in the state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, to take necessary steps. But based on random checks of backpack weights, Patil believes that backpacks are still too heavy. She plans to file a fresh petition in India's Supreme Court in September.

The burden of heavy backpacks is driven, in part, by publishers, says Francis Joseph, head of School Leader Network Foundation, a Mumbai-based education nonprofit.

Publishers flood the market with exam guide books that promise top marks.

"Now they have books with additional material, additional worksheets. For them, the more they publish, the more the price shoots up," says Joseph. "They forget that this is all adding on to the weight."

Also, most of the content is in the form of physical books. Joseph says e-learning has still not become an integral part of Indian schools.

Nine-year-old Chheda, who used to live in Columbus, Ohio, before he moved to Mumbai this year, says back in the United States at least some of his study material was on an iPad. So his backpack used to be much lighter than the 22 pounds he now carries. But at his posh private school in Mumbai, "we have textbooks, a lot, a lot of textbooks," he says.

That could be changing. The Indian government has announced several new initiatives to boost digital learning, including 900,000 digital blackboards in schools across the country. Some state governments have also looked into replacing textbooks with tablets or Amazon Kindles. The online education market in India is expected to be worth nearly $2 billion by 2021.

In the future, when digital learning becomes mainstream, maybe the burden on kids' backs will be reduced. But some Indian educators don't want to wait that long. They've come up with creative, low-tech solutions. Like cutting up textbooks into monthly chapters so that students carry only the material they're going to need that month.

Or how about a pickup and drop-off service for backpacks?A few years ago, a school in the southern Indian state of Kerala started sending a van to students' homes to collect their bags. For those fortunate youngsters, walking to school is no longer a pain in the back.

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• Straight Up

Let's Debate: Does homework really help achieve anything or is it an unnecessary burden? 

Students from across the country were debating whether 'Homework should be banned in every school in India' at The New Indian Express' virtual inter-school debate competition, Let's Debate that streamed live on April 12. 

The largest inter-school virtual debate competition in India, it was held in association with Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, MEIL and Linc Pens. The judges for the debate were Manju Latha Kalanidhi, Senior Assistant Editor, The Sunday Magazine, TNIE and Dr Rajashree S R, artist, art coordinator and consultant. 

Speaking for the motion, one of the contestants, Gurumithra K, PSBB Millenium School, Coimbatore said, "It is important that the children of today fall in love with learning and homework never really helps do that. The only thing homework does is making students anxious and making the whole process of education tedious. Homework eats up all our free time. The same time can be used to sharpen our skills and unleash our creativity. We already spend about 6-8 hours a day, five days a week in school. After all this time in school, home must be a place where we can take a break. Homework prevents this and even causes high stress levels. We don't get the time to go out and exercise. Family time is also restricted because of homework and spending time with family is so important because it teaches us the important of relationships."

Speaking against the motion, Radha Umesh Mulay, CHIREC International School said, "There are limited hours during the school day and it is very difficult for the teachers to assess whether the students have understood all the concepts taught. Homework helps achieve this. Homework helps reinforce knowledge, allows children to learn at their own pace and master time management as it expects us to finish a given task at a given time. It teaches us to establish priorities and responsibilities as a student. Homework also teaches us the importance of planning, organisation and independent work."

Advait Anand, a class VII student of Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Chennai was the winner and Radha Unmesh Mulay, a class VII student of CHIREC International School was the runner-up

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Should We Ban Homework?

The cons of homework are starting to outweigh the pros.

Recent research shows that teenagers have doubled the amount of time they spend on homework since the 1990s. This is in spite of other, well-documented research that calls the efficacy of homework into question, albeit in the younger grades. Why are students spending so much time on homework if the impact is zero (for younger kids) or moderate (for older ones)? Should we ban homework? These are the questions teachers, parents, and lawmakers are asking.

Bans proposed and implemented in the U.S. and abroad

The struggle of whether or not to assign homework is not a new one. In 2017, a Florida superintendent banned homework for elementary schools in the entire district, with one very important exception: reading at home. The United States isn’t the only country to question the benefits of homework. Last August, the Philippines proposed a bill  to ban homework completely, citing the need for rest, relaxation, and time with family. Another bill there proposed no weekend homework, with teachers running the risk of fines or two years in prison. (Yikes!) While a prison sentence may seem extreme, there are real reasons to reconsider homework.

Refocus on mental health and educate the “whole child”

Prioritizing mental health is at the forefront of the homework ban movement. Leaders say they want to give students time to develop other hobbies, relationships, and balance in their lives.

This month two Utah elementary schools gained national recognition for officially banning homework. The results are significant, with psychologist referrals for anxiety decreasing by 50 percent. Many schools are looking for ways to refocus on wellness, and homework can be a real cause of stress.

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Research supports a ban for elementary schools

Supporters of a homework ban often cite research from John Hattie, who concluded that elementary school homework has no effect on academic progress. In a podcast he said, “Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?'”

In the upper grades, Hattie’s research shows that homework has to be purposeful, not busy work. And the reality is, most teachers don’t receive training on how to assign homework that is meaningful and relevant to students.

Parents push back, too

In October this Washington Post article made waves in parenting and education communities when it introduced the idea that, even if homework is assigned, it doesn’t have to be completed for the student to pass the class. The writer explains how her family doesn’t believe in homework, and doesn’t participate. In response, other parents started “opting out” of homework, citing research that homework in elementary school doesn’t further intelligence or academic success. 

Of course, homework has its defenders, especially in the upper grades

“I think some homework is a good idea,” says Darla E. in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. “Ideally, it forces the parents to take some responsibility for their child’s education. It also reinforces what students learn and instills good study habits for later in life.”

Jennifer M. agrees. “If we are trying to make students college-ready, they need the skill of doing homework.”

And the research does support some homework in middle and high school, as long as it is clearly tied to learning and not overwhelming.

We’d love to hear your thoughts—do you think schools should ban homework? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, why you should stop assigning reading homework.

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Should homework be banned in Schools

• SaralStudy Team
• December 26, 2016

The benefits of homework has been debated by teachers, parents and educationists for many years as the very word evokes different connotations to each involved – students, parents and teachers. Although many people think homework does more harm than good by causing copious amounts of unnecessary stress to everyone, others believe that it has great advantages for children by encouraging them to think more independently outside the classroom and learning to be self-dependent from an early age.

The Benefits

• The first benefit of homework is that it allows students and teachers to work more closely together. They can discuss their assignments or any problems that they are having with parts of their textbooks, before or after classes. It leads to a more interactive inter personal relationship between the teacher and the students.
• The second benefit is that it can bring families closer together as students may ask their parents or siblings for help on their homework. Not only will this help the students get a better understanding of their work with any parts they are stuck on, it will also allow parents to get more involved in their child’s educational life. The parents can see what assignments have been given by the teachers and whether they are proving knowledge on the right track or not. This is especially important during the formative years when basic education is being instilled in the children.
• Thirdly, doing homework will prepare students for the main examinations. If a child does poorly on an assignment then they will learn what is necessary to do well on the next test without being punished. It also provides students with the opportunity to practice at what it takes to be successful in school. Like they say, practice makes perfect. It also inculcates the habit of being independent and prioritizing their assignments from an early age and when they enter college, they will be better adept to carry out their tasks and assignments. Good habits should be incorporated since childhood and by doing homework, they become self-sufficient.

Doing homework is also a great way to develop responsibilities. By being assigned work one day and knowing that it has to be done by the next day, they will develop a sense of punctuality by turning their work in on time.

The course at school needs to be completed within a given period of time and school can only be for 7-8 hours each day. If homework is not given, there will be a tremendous load on the teachers and school to finish the curriculum and also the practice of the students on a particular topic will get jeopardized. The students may have to sit for additional hours at school to finish the assignments which again is not a very solid proposition.

The Potential Harm

Homework can be a beneficial tool to help a student apply certain concepts that they have learned in class. However, since they may not have someone sitting next to them or working through it to make sure that it is correct; they could just be practicing bad habits and learning how to do problems the wrong way. Perfect practice is the only way to ensure that students are learning the right concepts. If they are doing it wrong, then it isn’t helping and is actually making things worse. Parents today are very busy having to spend their whole day at work and may have learnt how to do many of these concepts so long ago that they may not be able to assist their children in their homework. That leaves the student to fend for himself.

Students sit in school all day and barely get any exercise. When they get home, they have to sit some more and do their homework. By the time they are done, it is time to get ready for bed. Where is the time for activity? Where is the time for exercise? The fact is that there is no time. During the school week and sometimes on the weekends, the student is busy doing work and school and homework at home. They don’t have time to play sports and if they do then they are rushing through their homework anyways. A child needs to have a holistic development and not just academic excellence. They need to also unwind themselves by playing sports, games and doing other activities to take their mind off studies. If they get too much homework from school, they barely get any time to indulge in other activities, which is detrimental.

Homework can be an improper tool to test a student’s abilities. If you copy the homework from your classmates or have your classmate do your homework for you, then it looks like you really understand topics that you don’t really understand. You can give your teacher and parents the improper information. If you do the homework yourself and just rush through it, you can make careless mistakes and that will lead to incorrect information being given to your teacher as well. Hence, homework is not a proper measure for testing a child’s academic ability or aptitude.

It reduces the amount of time that children could be spending with their families. Family time is especially important to a growing child and without it social problems can crop up and a family unit can be compromised by a lack of time being spent together.

Homework can cause conflict between children and parents when the parent wants the child to do their homework but meets resistance from the student to do an overwhelming task.

And finally, a lot of teachers don’t often have the time to check and grade the homework and assignments properly as they are too busy with designing lesson plans and consulting teaching resources in order to just manage lessons. So by the time students are getting their homework back, the class may have moved on to a new topic.

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What Happened When India Pulled the Plug on TikTok

The United States is agonizing over the possibility of a ban, but India did it at a stroke. Indians adjusted quickly, and Instagram and YouTube built big audiences.

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By Alex Travelli and Suhasini Raj

Reporting from New Delhi

In India, a country of 1.4 billion, it took TikTok just a few years to build an audience of 200 million users. India was its biggest market. Then, on June 29, 2020, the Indian government banned TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps, after a simmering conflict between India and China flared into violence at their border.

A popular form of entertainment, which had not been the subject of political debate, vanished overnight. Now, as politicians are wrangling in Washington over a plan that could shut access for the 170 million Americans using TikTok, the example set by India gives a foretaste of what may come — and how audiences and other social media companies catering to them might respond.

TikTok, owned by ByteDance in Beijing, came to India early, establishing a wide base in 2017 in dozens of the country’s languages. Its content — short videos — tended to be homey and hyperlocal. An endless scroll of homemade productions, many of them shot in small towns or farms and set to popular music, helped while away the hours across the world’s cheapest and fastest-growing mobile-data network. As it has in the United States, TikTok became a platform for entrepreneurial extroverts to build businesses.

Veer Sharma was 26 when the music stopped. He had collected seven million followers on TikTok, where he posted videos of himself and friends lip-syncing and joking around to Hindi film songs. He was the son of a laid-off millworker from the central Indian city of Indore and barely finished formal schooling. His TikTok achievements filled him with pride. He felt “beyond happy” when people recognized him on the street.

They were happy to see him, too. Once, Mr. Sharma said, an “elderly couple met me and said they would watch my show before going to bed, for a laugh.” They told him that his “show was a way out of their daily life’s drudgery.”

With his new stardom, Mr. Sharma was earning 100,000 rupees, about $1,200, a month. He bought a Mercedes. After the ban in 2020, he barely had time to make one last video for his fans. “Our times together will be ending soon, and I don’t know how or when we will be able to meet again,” he told them.

“Then, I cried and cried,” he said.

Yet short videos, including many preserved from TikTok and uploaded to other sites that aren’t banned, continue to draw Indians.

India’s online life soon adapted to TikTok’s absence. Meta’s Instagram swooped in with its Reels and Alphabet’s YouTube with Shorts, both TikTok-like products, and converted many of the influencers and eyeballs that had been left idle.

The services were popular. But something was lost along the way, experts said. Much of the homespun charm of Indian TikTok never found a new home. It became harder for small-time creators to be discovered.

Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy analyst in New Delhi, tracks the overall change to the departure from TikTok’s “algorithms, its special sauce,” which was “a lot more localized to Indian content” than the formulas used by the American giants that succeeded it.

Several Indian companies tried to get into the gap caused by the disappearance of Chinese competition. But America’s tech giants, with their deeper pockets and expanding global audiences, came to dominate India. The country is now the biggest market for both YouTube (almost 500 million monthly users) and Instagram (362 million), with roughly twice as many users as either has in the United States, though they earn far less revenue per consumer.

The decision by India to cut its population off from TikTok was as sudden as the American efforts, which began in 2020, are protracted. But the motivation was similar — and even more dramatic. Whereas the United States and China are engaged in a new kind of cold war over economic dominance, India and China have had troops standing off at their border since 1962. In 2020, that frozen conflict turned hot. In one night of brutal hand-to-hand combat , 20 Indian soldiers were killed, along with at least four Chinese, which China never officially confirmed.

Two weeks later, India switched off TikTok. The app disappeared from Google and Apple stores, and its website was blocked. By then, India was well practiced in blocking objectionable websites and even shutting down mobile data across whole regions, in the name of maintaining public order.

There were few other signs of retaliation by India, but this one action commanded the public’s attention. The list of Chinese apps that India has banned continues to grow, now to 509, according to Mr. Pahwa.

Until then, India’s internet had presented an open market to China. In contrast to India’s domestic media companies, tech start-ups were free to take investment from China and other countries. TikTok was only the most popular among dozens of Chinese-owned games and services distributed to Indians online.

Since at least 2017, after a similar border skirmish , the possibility that Chinese consumer technology might pose a risk to India’s sovereignty had been circulating in national security circles.

Indian officials had expressed concern that Chinese-owned apps could provide Beijing with a potent messaging tool within India’s raucous media environment. Just two months before the ban, India announced new restrictions on investments from any country “ sharing land border with India .” Technically, that would apply to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. But China was understood to be the real target.

On June 29, 2020, the official order that blocked TikTok and dozens of lesser-known Chinese services did not mention China explicitly, nor the bloody fight on the border. Instead, the measure was described as a matter of “data security and safeguarding the privacy” of Indian citizens from “elements hostile to national security and defense of India.”

In subsequent years, India’s government has used the rationale about maintaining the “safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace” to dictate terms even to American tech companies. It has complained to Apple and Twitter, as well as to Meta and Google, sometimes to prevent speech that is critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

But the government bore no grudge against TikTok’s influencers. After the ban went into effect, the B.J.P. reached out to Mr. Sharma , who said he had become depressed. Between losing his income and his fame, he felt his “world crashing down.” He had already been contacted by Moj, a Bangalore-based TikTok rival. Mr. Sharma’s career and income bounced back after he posted a clip with his state’s chief minister and started making promotional videos with other B.J.P. office holders. He feels proud now to be helping further Mr. Modi’s political agenda.

Another TikTokker who was temporarily “heartbroken” by the ban was Ulhas Kamathe, a 44-year-old dad from Mumbai. He somehow achieved a moment of international fame by devouring chicken platters while murmuring “chicken leg piece” with his mouth full, an instant meme. After losing his nearly seven million TikTok followers overnight, he says he has recovered — by finding five million on YouTube, four million on Instagram and three million on Facebook.

“In the past three years, I have rebuilt without any help — all by myself,” he said.

Alex Travelli is a correspondent for The Times based in New Delhi, covering business and economic matters in India and the rest of South Asia. He previously worked as an editor and correspondent for The Economist. More about Alex Travelli

Suhasini Raj is a reporter based in New Delhi who has covered India for The Times since 2014. More about Suhasini Raj

Poland’s children rejoice as homework is banned. The rest of the world watches on for results

O la Kozak is celebrating. The 11-year-old, who loves music and drawing, expects to have more free time for her hobbies after Poland ’s government ordered strict limits on the amount of homework in the lower grades.

“I am happy,” said the fifth grader, who lives in a Warsaw suburb with her parents and younger siblings. The lilac-colored walls in her bedroom are covered in her art, and on her desk she keeps a framed picture she drew of Kurt Cobain.

“Most people in my class in the morning would copy the work off someone who had done the homework or would copy it from the internet. So it didn’t make sense,” she said.

The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk enacted the ban against required homework this month amid a broad discussion about the need to modernise Poland's education system, which critics say puts too much emphasis on rote learning and homework, and not enough on critical thinking and creativity.

Under the decree, teachers are no longer to give required homework to kids in the first to third grades. In grades four to eight, homework is now optional and doesn't count towards a grade.

Not everyone likes the change – and even Ola’s parents are divided.

“If there is something that will make students enjoy school more, then it will probably be good both for the students and for the school,” said her father, Pawel Kozak.

His wife, Magda Kozak, was skeptical. “I am not pleased, because (homework) is a way to consolidate what was learned,” she said. “It helps stay on top of what the child has really learned and what’s going on at school.”

(Ola's brother Julian, a third grader, says he sees both sides.)

Debates over the proper amount of homework are common around the globe. While some studies have shown little benefit to homework for young learners, other experts say it can help them learn how to develop study habits and academic concepts.

The rest of the world will be watching Poland’s results closely.

Poland's educational system has undergone a number of controversial overhauls. Almost every new government has tried to make changes — something many teachers and parents say has left them confused and discouraged. For example, after communism was thrown off, middle schools were introduced. Then under the last government, the previous system was brought back. More controversy came in recent years when ultra-conservative views were pushed in new textbooks.

For years, teachers have been fleeing the system due to low wages and political pressure. The current government is trying to increase teacher salaries and has promised other changes that teachers approve of.

But Sławomir Broniarz, the head of the Polish Teachers' Union, said that while he recognized the need to ease burdens on students, the new homework rules are another case of change imposed from above without adequate consultation with educators.

“In general, the teachers think that this happened too quickly, too hastily,” he said.

He argued that removing homework could widen the educational gaps between kids who have strong support at home and those from poorer families with less support and lower expectations. Instead, he urged wider changes to the entire curriculum.

The homework rules gained impetus in the runup to parliamentary elections last year, when a 14-year-old boy, Maciek Matuszewski, stood up at a campaign rally and told Tusk before a national audience that children “had no time to rest.” The boy said their rights were being violated with so much homework on weekends and so many tests on Mondays.

Tusk has since featured Matuszewski in social media videos and made him the face of the sudden change.

Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said she was prompted by research on children’s mental health. Of the various stresses children face, she said, "the one that could be removed fastest was the burden of homework.”

Pasi Sahlberg, a prominent Finnish educator and author, said the value of homework depends on what it is and how it is linked to overall learning. The need for homework can be “very individual and contextual.”

“We need to trust our teachers to decide what is good for each child,” Sahlberg said.

In South Korea, homework limits were set for elementary schools in 2017 amid concerns that kids were under too much pressure. However, teenagers in the education-obsessed country often cram long into the night and get tutoring to meet the requirements of demanding school and university admission tests.

In the US, teachers and parents decide for themselves how much homework to assign. Some elementary schools have done away with homework entirely to give children more time to play, participate in activities and spend time with families.

A guideline circulated by teachers unions in the US recommends about 10 minutes of homework per grade. So, 10 minutes in first grade, 20 minutes in second grade and so on.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a crisis around youth mental health have complicated debates around homework. In the US, extended school closures in some places were accompanied by steep losses in learning, which were often addressed with tutoring and other interventions paid for with federal pandemic relief money. At the same time, increased attention to student wellbeing led some teachers to consider alternate approaches including reduced or optional homework.

It's important for children to learn that mastering something "usually requires practice, a lot of practice,” said Sahlberg, in Finland. If reducing homework leads kids and parents to think school expectations for excellence will be lowered, “things will go wrong.”

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

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Poland’s kids rejoice over new rules against homework. Teachers and parents aren’t so sure

Ola Kozak, 11, sits at the table where she used to do her homework at the family home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday April 5, 2024. Ola is happy that Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. Julian enjoyed doing his homework. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Arkadiusz Korporowicz teaches history to 5th grade children at Primary School number 223 in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Pawel Kozak and his wife Magda Kozak, parents of three, stand at their home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. They have different opinions on the decision by Poland’s government that ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Children enter a classroom at the Primary School number 223 in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Julian Kozak, 9, sits at the table where he used to do his homework at the family home in Warsaw, Poland, on Friday April 5, 2024. Julian is not very happy that Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Ola Kozak, 11, right, and her younger brother Julian Kozak, 9, sit at the table where they used to do their homework at the family home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday April 5, 2024. Ola is happy that Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. Julian enjoyed doing his homework. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland’s Education Minister Barbara Nowacka announces restrictions on the amount of homework for primary school children, at school number 223 in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. Opinions are divided on what results can be expected from the strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Pawel Kozak, father of three, speaks at his home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. Pawel and her wife Magda have different opinions on the decision by Poland’s government that ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Magda Kozak, mother of three, stands at her home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. Magda and her husband Pawel have different opinions on the decision by Poland’s government that ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Julian Kozak, 9, sits at the table where he used to do his homework at the family home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. Julian is not very happy that Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Magda Kozak, right, spends time with her son Julian, 9, at their home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. Neither of them is happy that starting in April, Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Children walk in the corridor of Primary School number 223 in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Children with flowers wait for the arrival of Education Minister Barbara Nowacka at Primary School number 223 in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday April 3, 2024. Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades, starting in April. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Julian Kozak, 9, plays with his cat at their home in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 5, 2024. Starting in April, Poland’s government has ordered strict limits on the amount of homework that teachers can impose on the lower grades. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Ola Kozak is celebrating. The 11-year-old, who loves music and drawing, expects to have more free time for her hobbies after Poland’s government ordered strict limits on the amount of homework in the lower grades.

“I am happy,” said the fifth grader, who lives in a Warsaw suburb with her parents and younger siblings. The lilac-colored walls in her bedroom are covered in her art, and on her desk she keeps a framed picture she drew of Kurt Cobain.

“Most people in my class in the morning would copy the work off someone who had done the homework or would copy it from the internet. So it didn’t make sense,” she said.

The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk enacted the ban against required homework this month amid a broad discussion about the need to modernize Poland’s education system, which critics say puts too much emphasis on rote learning and homework, and not enough on critical thinking and creativity.

Under the decree, teachers are no longer to give required homework to kids in the first to third grades. In grades four to eight, homework is now optional and doesn’t count towards a grade.

Not everyone likes the change – and even Ola’s parents are divided.

“If there is something that will make students enjoy school more, then it will probably be good both for the students and for the school,” said her father, Pawel Kozak.

His wife, Magda Kozak, was skeptical. “I am not pleased, because (homework) is a way to consolidate what was learned,” she said. “It helps stay on top of what the child has really learned and what’s going on at school.”

(Ola’s brother Julian, a third grader, says he sees both sides.)

Debates over the proper amount of homework are common around the globe. While some studies have shown little benefit to homework for young learners, other experts say it can help them learn how to develop study habits and academic concepts.

Poland’s educational system has undergone a number of controversial overhauls. Almost every new government has tried to make changes — something many teachers and parents say has left them confused and discouraged. For example, after communism was thrown off, middle schools were introduced. Then under the last government, the previous system was brought back. More controversy came in recent years when ultra-conservative views were pushed in new textbooks.

For years, teachers have been fleeing the system due to low wages and political pressure. The current government is trying to increase teacher salaries and has promised other changes that teachers approve of.

But Sławomir Broniarz, the head of the Polish Teachers’ Union, said that while he recognized the need to ease burdens on students, the new homework rules are another case of change imposed from above without adequate consultation with educators.

“In general, the teachers think that this happened too quickly, too hastily,” he said.

He argued that removing homework could widen the educational gaps between kids who have strong support at home and those from poorer families with less support and lower expectations. Instead, he urged wider changes to the entire curriculum.

The homework rules gained impetus in the runup to parliamentary elections last year, when a 14-year-old boy, Maciek Matuszewski, stood up at a campaign rally and told Tusk before a national audience that children “had no time to rest.” The boy said their rights were being violated with so much homework on weekends and so many tests on Mondays.

Tusk has since featured Matuszewski in social media videos and made him the face of the sudden change.

Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said she was prompted by research on children’s mental health. Of the various stresses children face, she said, “the one that could be removed fastest was the burden of homework.”

Pasi Sahlberg, a prominent Finnish educator and author, said the value of homework depends on what it is and how it is linked to overall learning. The need for homework can be “very individual and contextual.”

“We need to trust our teachers to decide what is good for each child,” Sahlberg said.

In South Korea, homework limits were set for elementary schools in 2017 amid concerns that kids were under too much pressure. However, teenagers in the education-obsessed country often cram long into the night and get tutoring to meet the requirements of demanding school and university admission tests.

In the U.S., teachers and parents decide for themselves how much homework to assign. Some elementary schools have done away with homework entirely to give children more time to play, participate in activities and spend time with families.

A guideline circulated by teachers unions in the U.S. recommends about 10 minutes of homework per grade. So, 10 minutes in first grade, 20 minutes in second grade and so on.

The COVID-19 pandemic and a crisis around youth mental health have complicated debates around homework. In the U.S., extended school closures in some places were accompanied by steep losses in learning , which were often addressed with tutoring and other interventions paid for with federal pandemic relief money. At the same time, increased attention to student wellbeing led some teachers to consider alternate approaches including reduced or optional homework.

It’s important for children to learn that mastering something “usually requires practice, a lot of practice,” said Sahlberg, in Finland. If reducing homework leads kids and parents to think school expectations for excellence will be lowered, “things will go wrong.”

AP writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.

Laura V. Svendsen

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