Durban - Thousands of learners are expected to head back to school next week following a delayed start due to a second wave of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
Based on the approved and final school calendar for 2021 that has been released, learners are expected to hit the ground running from Monday until the end of the first term, April 23.
The second term is expected to start on May 3 and will continue until July 9, while the third term will run between July 26 and October 1. The fourth term starts on October 11 and ends on December 15. Learners are being given 40 weeks of learning in total.
While learners are due back only next week, school management teams returned last month to prepare for the year ahead.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said schools in the province were ready to open for the 2021 academic year.
He said considerable progress was being made to address minor outstanding issues. Oversight committees would visit schools on the first day back.
"The main aim is to have the first lesson during the first hour of the first day of school," he said.
For the safety of school communities (learners, teachers and non-teaching staff), the Department of Education has made good progress to ensure that all the Covid-19 essentials are delivered to schools before the arrival of learners. This includes the provision of water and sanitation facilities.
The department has also confirmed that a media briefing on the approval of the results of the 2020 national examination is due to be held next week.
The briefing will be livestreamed via the UmalusiSA Facebook and YouTube accounts.
IOL