Basic Education School Calendar 2020 Update: The Department of Basic Education releases the amended school calendar. The calendar breaks down how the department will divide school work over the course of 42 weeks, an improvement from the 37 weeks in the 2020 school calendar.
The 2021 school year will kick off on 25 January, as announced by Minister Angie Motshekga. The calendar shows 195 school days, with a limited number of school holidays.
This comes as no surprise, as the department lost 5 teaching weeks in 2020 and has said it will use 2021 to catch up with the rest of the curriculum.
“We are fully aware that the country needs the school calendar for effective planning purposes, and we have worked hard to ensure it is done properly, taking into account the disruptions that have occurred in 2020,” said Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga.”
The 2020 school year should have had 42 teaching weeks, but Covid-19 cut this short. The department hopes to use 2021 to start on a clean slate, with enough teaching weeks.
Motshekga said it would take a joint effort to recover lost teaching time, as parts of the 2020 curriculum would be carried over into 2021.
“All teachers know that catching up on lost learning, or learning recovery, is not an easy, quick activity but requires a lot of dedicated time. This will include a concerted effort by both parents and teachers and will need to extend into the 2021 academic year. To allow for this, we have revised the annual teaching plans to extend to next year,” said Motshekga.
Download Basic Education School Calendar
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