Background/aims– Uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of visual impairment in school–going children1. So, to assess the magnitude of the problem the present study was conducted among the school going children aged 5–11 years in Kangra district. Methods–A cross sectional study was conducted in 14 primary coeducational government schools, randomly selected and about 506 school children were examined from May 2015 to May 2016. Preliminary examination was carried out at their respective schools and detailed ophthalmic examination was done in ophthalmology department of tertiary centre. Results– Refractive errors (32%) constituted the major cause of ocular morbidity in government school. The overall prevalence of refractive errors was 12%, amblyopia and squint 2.8% each. Low vision (visual acuity < 6/18) in the better eye was observed in 505 (99.9%) children and blindness (visual acuity <6/60) in 1 (0.1%) children. Results suggested that 92% of children were with uncorrected refractive error. Conclusions– Refractive error is an important cause of avoidable blindness among government school children. A school eye screening cum intervention programme with periodic evaluation seems to be appropriate in this region of North India.