PRIVATE schools have proposed to Government to have a different school calendar from the one announced by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education last week.
The schools want the first term to end on March 31 and the
second term to start on May 3.
A week ago, Cabinet announced that schools will open for
the First Term next Monday for examination classes and the rest of the classes
will open on March 22.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education then
released the 2021 schools calendar.According to the ministry, Term One ends on
June 4 with the second term commencing on June 28, ending on September 10.
The third term will start on October 4 and end on December
17. Schools were supposed to open on 4 January but Government was forced to
defer the opening due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Private schools said they want a separate schools calendar
given the fact that they have been conducting online lessons when schools were
closed. They have since written to the ministry requesting to be allowed to
close on March 31 and reopen on May 3 for the second term.
The schools are arguing that there is no need for them to
have an extended school term since they have already covered a lot of ground.
In the event their proposal is approved, it means pupils at
private schools will not break for Easter holiday and return to school as is
the case with Government and mission schools.
This year Good Friday falls on April 2 while Easter Monday
is on April 5. Some parents, particularly those with children at boarding
schools are already counting the costs of breaking for Easter holidays and
returning to school after the holidays.
Primary and Secondary Education Ministry communication and
advocacy manager Mr Taungana Ndoro yesterday confirmed that private schools had
approached the Ministry with a proposal for a separate schools calendar.
He said the ministry is yet to respond to their request. “The
calendar we are using is the one approved by Cabinet and this is supposed to be
for all schools. We received their request and until such a time that
Government approves their proposal, the opening of schools is on 15 March for
examination classes and March 22 for the rest of classes,” said Mr Ndoro.
He said the private schools were saying that their pupils
were having online lessons when schools were closed but the Government position
is that online lessons are there to complement face-to-face lessons.
“We have to conduct both online and physical face to face
lessons as we need to catch up on lost time in 2020 and also time which has
been lost in 2021,” he said.
Association of Trust Schools executive director Mr Tim
Middleton declined to comment on the matter.
“We deal with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary
Education directly on all matters to do with education. We deal with them not
with the Press or with others. It’s a matter between our association and the
Ministry. It’s a private matter between the association of private schools and
the ministry of education,” said Mr Middleton.
Chronicle understands that some private schools have
already told parents and guardians that they will close on March 31 while
others have advised that pupils will continue with online lessons until the end
of the school term at the end of this month. Chronicle
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