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Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has released the updated 2021 calendar for South Africa’s public schools.
At a news conference Thursday, Motshekga said schools will reopen later than planned in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that teachers will return on January 25 and students will return on January 27.
“We are fully aware that the country needs the school calendar for effective planning; and we’ve worked hard to make sure it’s done right; taking into account the disruptions that have occurred in 2020, ”said Motshekga.
“We will have to move some of the work from the curriculum to 2021 and we have done our best to meet everyone’s interests. But our priority is the student. “
Below is the updated schedule that was released on Friday (October 2):
The late start to the year is partly due to subsequent matrix exams that were rescheduled to accommodate the disruptions caused by the pandemic, Motshekga said.
“As previously announced, the June Senior Certificate exam was postponed and will now be written in conjunction with the National Senior Certificate exam in November 2020,” he said.
“The exam schedule for the combined June and November exam had to be changed; so that this examination begins in November, instead of October of 2020, as it was foreseen initially ”.
Motshekga said the late start of the exam is intended to allow as much time as possible to cover critical content of the curriculum and to ensure that all exam processes are properly managed.
“The combined exam makes it the largest public exam our country has ever administered,” he said.
“More than 1 million (1,058,699) candidates will take the exams; and certainly never before have we had to manage such a large number. It is going to be a huge task, but we will need to make sure it is managed and coordinated smoothly. “
Writing for the NSC 2020 exam will begin on November 5, 2020 and will conclude on December 15, 2020.
Read: South African schools and universities will open later in 2021
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