Why do Malaysian primary students still carry heavy school bags daily?

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Malaysian primary students still carry heavy school bags daily because physical textbooks remain a required part of everyday schooling, even though the main government digital textbook platform, DELIMa, is largely supplementary or optional for most schools.

DELIMa is Malaysia’s main government initiative for digital textbooks, offering access to hundreds of digital textbooks plus interactive modules, videos, and tools from partners such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple. However, the platform is described as a supplementary or optional resource for most primary and secondary schools, meaning students still have to bring their backpack-like bags to school almost every day. The continuing reliance on physical textbooks also sits alongside concerns that many new printed copies are produced each year and discarded after final exams.
DELIMa provides digital textbooks but is not the core classroom requirement
DELIMa is led by the Ministry of Education and was rebranded from earlier MOE Digital Learning efforts after Frog VLE. It gives students access to hundreds of digital textbooks, along with interactive modules, videos, and partner tools from Google, Microsoft, and Apple. Despite this range of content, it is characterised as supplementary or optional for most schools, so it does not fully replace the need to carry physical materials.
Students still need physical textbooks for daily lessons
The description of the situation is direct: even with digital resources available, students still lug their backpack-like bags to school almost every day. The focus is on the practical outcome for children in national schools, including from Standard 1, where the daily requirement to carry books continues. This means heavy bags persist because physical textbooks remain embedded in day-to-day schooling.
Ongoing printed textbook cycles create wastage after exams
A key point raised is wastage tied to physical textbooks: year after year, thousands and thousands of new copies of the same books are printed and then discarded after the final exam. The cost is framed as an externality borne by wider society, with book sellers benefiting from repeated print runs. The article notes that some private schools have moved away from physical textbooks, while public schools have not followed suit.
Digital learning expansion has not eliminated the need for large printed books
The discussion contrasts the growth of video lessons, interactive learning sites, and educational games with the continued preference for large physical textbooks. It argues that even with technology-rich learning content, the system still requires students to carry huge books rather than relying on e-textbooks. This gap between available digital tools and what students still must bring daily is presented as the reason heavy bags remain normal.

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Why do Malaysian primary students still carry heavy school bags daily?

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