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The Ministry of Education has maintained February 12, 2024 as opening day for schools and colleges after recording a significant decline in the number of cholera cases .
Minister of Education, Douglas Siakalima, said the directorate of standard assessment and evaluation, school health nutrition, which he joined in school inspections on Tuesday, carried out thorough assessment in schools to ensure they were ready for reopening.
Siakalima certified this declaration on Wednesday when he addressed the media in Lusaka.
Read More: Schools to remain closed until January 29, as cholera death, cases escalate
He said the school calendar for 2024 for all public, private and aided community schools had been revised in order to recover from the lost time.
“Schools and colleges will open for term one as earlier said on Monday February 12, 2024 and will close on Friday April 26, 2024,” Siakalima said.
This meant that schools would only be open for two months for term one.
“Schools and colleges will open for term two on Monday May 6, 2024 and will close on Friday August 9, 2024,” he added.
In a bid to catch up with the 2024 syllabus for schools and colleges, government had given learning institutions a five day holiday between term one and term two which was usually a 24 days holiday.
“School and colleges will open for term three on Monday September 2, 2024 and will close on Friday December 6, 2024,” Siakalima said.
He also acknowledged the pressure that the revised calendar had on teachers and encouraged them to take concerted efforts in the fight against cholera.
The Minister further urged parents and guardians to take the practical aspect of observing hygiene seriously.
Since October 2023, Zambia had been battling with Cholera, a disease which claimed more than 600 lives and affected over 15,000 people.
The latest report by the Ministry of Health indicated that 118 new cholera cases were recorded in 24 hours with a total of one community death in the same time range.
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