STUDENTS should be given lockers to help reduce the daily burden of books they must carry to and from school, teachers' representative Cheung Man-kwong said yesterday.
Around 50 primary school children and their parents from the Hongkong Boys and Girls Clubs Association petitioned the Legislative Council yesterday, calling for moves to lighten their heavy school bags.
Seven-year-old Chan Taz-man, who will be a primary three student in September, said she became exhausted after carrying her school bag, which weighed more than six kilograms.
''Sometimes I hate going to school, while at the other times I don't want to do my homework because I feel exhausted after school hours,'' said Taz-man.
She and her 10-year-old sister Taz-lun went to school by bus, and their mother carried their bags for them from their home to the bus stop.
But Taz-man said she had to carry her bag all day, including up the stairs to her second-floor classroom.
''I am a little bit frightened of my future years because the higher the class we are in, the higher we have to climb up, and the more books we have to bring with us,'' she said.