By Esnart Chingwalu

The Ministry of Education has pleaded with education institutions to abide by the academic calendar which will help the country to go back to the original school calendar which was compromised due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes as the ministry has releases the 2022 academic year slated to commence on January 4, 2022 and ends September 9, 2022.

According to the statement signed by Chikondano Mussa, Secretary in the Ministry of Education, the new calendar has 32 weeks and will commence on January 4, 2022 and will end on September 9, 2022.

The statement says the first term will open on January 4 and will close on March 11, 2022 followed by a two weeks holiday.

Second term will open on March 20, 2022 and closes on June 3, 2022 followed by a two weeks holiday whilst third term will open on June 20 to September 9 followed by a four weeks holiday.

The statement has therefore informed all institutions and the general public that the academic calendar is short to enable the ministry to return to the original calendar which starts in September and ends in July.

Apart from this double shifting and overlapping will still be observed as one way of avoiding overcrowding in schools.

“Schools therefore have been allowed to resume to school feeding program and extra curricula activities while observing to all the COVID 19 measures at all time,” reads part of the statement.

The ministry has therefore reminded all education institutions and the general public that the school calendar is harmonized for all educational institutions, both public and private and at all levels hence no education institution is allowed to operate outside the calendar.