THE Department of Basic Education has released a revised school calendar for the 2020 academic year.
According to education minister, Angie Motshekga, the school year will now be completed on 15 December for Grades R to 11.
“In terms of the new version of the calendar, schools will resume on 24 August. There are 163 actual school days for teachers and 156 for learners,” the department said in a statement.
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“A break in school will be needed to separate the third and fourth terms. As a result there will be a one week break in October from the 26th to the 30th. The teaching, learning and assessment for the 2020 academic year must be concluded by 15 December for Grades R to 11.”
The 2020 Grade 12 examinations will be completed by 15 December and the marking will be concluded on 22 January with results released on 23 February 2021.
The new school year will commence on 25 January 2021 for teachers and learners a few days later. The calendar will be gazetted and published this week.
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“The department considered the impact of the decision on the current calendar. The policy process to amend the school calendar commenced taking into account the urgency of the matter as necessitated by the prevalent Covid-19 environment,” the department said.
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