Back to school: Excitement and nervousness but no tears

There was an air of excitement and optimism, but hardly any tears shed by parents as hundreds of pupils gathered at the Al Aqsa School in Lenasia on the first day of the 2024 academic year.

Millions of pupils returned to the classroom across the country on Wednesday after a lengthy holiday break.

With the reopening schools, there was also a noticeable increase in traffic congestion on major routes.

#BackToSchool2024 the traffic increased dramatically on the K43 coming out of Lenasia South as schools reopen for the academic year. With the wet weather exercise caution & patience to ensure the safety of your children. All the best to the pupils #jhbtraffic @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/yDBiDsbjCT

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) January 17, 2024

No tears

While there were some Grade 1 pupils who were nervous about their first day at a “big school” they were excited as they hugged and said their goodbyes to their parents with hardly a tear shed.   

Imran Ali, a Grade 3 teacher at the Al Aqsa School told The Citizen, it was all systems go for the new school year.

“There’s been a lot of preparation for today. It’s clearly a big day for the Grade 1s, there’s a lot of nervous children and parents as well. But everybody seems to be excited, it was a long break, five weeks was good time to get some relaxation in.”

Ali said there weren’t any hiccups surrounding registration of new pupils at the school.

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Life journey

Al Aqsa Principal Shahana Sujee said she is excited about the new cohort of pupils in the school.

“Most exciting are the little ones, the Grade 1s starting their journey into life and we are happy that we can play a part in their development, moulding them and teaching them. It will be a good and successful year, with a bit of fun as well.”

Some of the parents told The Citizen, they were relieved the holiday break was over and their Grade 1 children were finally starting school. They were excited for the journey that lay ahead for their “babies”.

School readiness

Meanwhile, Gauteng Economic Development MEC Tasneem Motara visited the Ramabele Secondary School and Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres as part of the Gauteng School Readiness Programme 2024.

The Gauteng Education Department said the oversight visit was to ensure that there was effective quality teaching and learning in schools, including ECDs from the first day, to ensure that the necessary discipline was observed and the appropriate resources were in place for the 2024 academic year.

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