TERM ONE SCHOOL OPENING DATE DEFERRED
Government has postponed the opening of Schools for 2024 term one from 8th to 29th January due to the increase in the number of cholera cases.
Education Minister Hon. Douglas Syakalima has announced this in Lusaka today Wednesday January 3, 2024.
Hon. Syakalima said in order to prevent and mitigate the spread of the disease, All public, private, aided and community learning institutions, Early Childhood Education (ECE) centers, primary and secondary schools will remain closed for a further three weeks after the official opening date of 8th January, 2024.
” This means that schools will only open on Monday, 29th January, 2024. Further, the grace period which was earlier given to Grades Eight (8) and Ten (10) learners has now been overtaken and all learners are expected to open on 29th January, 2024.” Hon. Syakalima said.
The Minister has further explained that in order to catch up on the time lost, the First Term holidays will only run for one (1) week instead of four (4) weeks.
“This implies that schools will close for term one on 26th April instead of 5th April, 2024, and reopen for Term Two (2) as scheduled on 6th May, 2024.” The Minister explained.
The Minister has therefore advised parents and guardians to ensure that they prepare their children for tern two even before term one closes, in view of the short holiday time.
Hon. Syakalima said his Ministry has taken a cautious approach to reopening schools and has therefore called for consented efforts from all stakeholders in ensuring that schools are safe and ready to reopen.
He has directed that during the prolonged closure, all learning institutions should be thoroughly cleaned up, have clean water and sanitation facilities, adequate hand washing points and disinfectants.
The Education Minister said this is in addition to the provisions of the preventive guidelines already in schools.
He has further instructed that all learning institutions should maintain a high level of hygiene at both personal and institutional levels as guided by the Ministry of Health.
“In addition to the above, school inspections and sensitizations will be intensified at all levels in order to ensure compliance to the above guidelines.” Hon. Syakalima said.
Meanwhile, the Minister said in order to keep the learners busy during the extended school closure, the Ministry of Education is encouraging parents and guardians to allow their children to make use of the available alternative modes of learning provided by the Ministry, which include: the Zambia National Broadcasting Cooperation (ZNBC) Television on Edu TV Channel and Education Broadcasting Services (EBS) Radio.
On 14th December 2023, the Ministry of Health announced that the country has in the recent past seen an increase in the cholera cases and subsequent deaths due to the disease.
In order to prevent and mitigate the spread of the disease, the Government has put in place measures affecting different wings of society including the Ministry of Education. #moecommunications. https://youtu.be/sEikWREtbQA