With the country experiencing a second wave of Covid-19, government has decided to delay the reopening of both public and private schools to 15 February.
Deputy minister of basic education Reginah Mhaule said the decision to delay the opening of schools was made by the Council of Education Ministers in conjunction with the National Coronavirus Command Council and cabinet.
This decision took into consideration the pressure experienced by the health system in the past few weeks, occasioned by increased Covid-19 infections. Private schools that have reopened already will need to postpone their reopening to a later date.
“This is done to provide relief to the health system which is already struggling to cope with the current demands. The new dates for the reopening of private schools will vary depending on the calendar that they follow,” the deputy minister said.
For public schools and private schools, which follow the same calendar, changes are as follows:
- School management teams must report for duty on 25 January;
- Teachers must follow on 1 February; and
- Pupils must return on 15 February.