It’s back to school time and the reopening of schools for the 2024 academic year will take place in a few days’ time. As parents and learners eagerly prepare to go back to school this year, both inland and coastal schools open on the same day for the first time.
Schools in Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State are considered inland schools and would usually be the first to resume with academic year, while schools in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape are coastal schools, and would reopen at a later stage.
The Department of Basic Education applied changes to the school calendar saying that it does not accommodate numerous factors that are considered important by themselves and the Constitution of South Africa.
The school calendar key amendments, amongst others, is to acknowledge the minority religious groups public holidays, allow for a natural disaster deviation, to have enough time to process matric results, and for the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to release those results.
Sihle Mlambo, the department’s Chief Director for Provincial Monitoring explained some of the reasons why this change was made.
“We are opening for the minority religious groups to enjoy their religious holidays,” he said.
Usually, the fourth term ends in the second week of December but with this new amendment, the fourth term will end in the first week of December.
“This will allow the Minister to release matric results earlier in January,” Mlambo added.
The school calendar amendment process included consultations with the public. They were invited to make inputs and comment on the proposed changes to the policy last year.