Bloemfontein - Most schools in Mpumalanga will be open this week as they have sacrificed their spring holidays in support of the province's “Catch Up” programme, an education official said on Monday.
Mpumalanga education spokesperson Jasper Zwane said the department was happy that almost all schools were following the programme.
“Learners from Grade 1 to 12 are attending normally from today until 1 October 2010,” he said in a statement.
Zwane said the department issued a directive that schools could continue with teaching from Monday to Friday this week.
This would enable schools and pupils to recover lost time, complete the syllabus and fill gaps left as a result of the national teachers' strike, which recently brought schooling to a standstill in many areas of the country.
Zwane said the provincial education department also established learning centres that were operational on Saturdays and Sundays for Grade 12 pupils.
“These centres started on 24 September and were running without serious glitches.”
He said the department was satisfied that the writing of the preliminary examinations went well.
The province's pupils wrote preliminary examinations between September 13 and 23.
Zwane said there had been a few disruptions and these had been handled by the relevant school principals. - Sapa