South African learners will return to classrooms on 14 January, marking another year in which inland and coastal schools begin the academic calendar at the same time.
Details emerging from coverage by BusinessTech show that the Department of Basic Education has confirmed a uniform national start date for all public schools, continuing a policy shift first introduced in 2024. The move aims to prevent delays to the academic year and protect the total number of teaching days.
While pupils return mid-January, teachers and school administrators will report earlier, with the academic year for staff starting on 12 January to allow for planning and preparation ahead of learners’ arrival.
Term 1 runs from 14 January to 27 March, followed by Term 2 from 8 April to 26 June. Term 3 begins on 21 July and ends on 23 September, while the final term starts on 6 October and concludes on 9 December.
In total, the academic year includes 200 school days, alongside 28 days of school holidays and five public holidays.
One notable adjustment is the inclusion of a special school holiday on Monday, 15 June. This additional day off creates a longer break around Youth Day, which falls on Tuesday, 16 June.
Education authorities and sector stakeholders agreed on the extra holiday during calendar consultations. These discussions typically involve representatives from transport authorities, religious organisations, NGOs, the private sector and the education department itself.
Explaining the continued alignment of inland and coastal school start dates, the national department noted that public holidays and broader calendar pressures require flexibility to avoid pushing the school year too far into January.
‘All possible steps must be taken to avoid a late start of the school year, that is, in the fourth week of January, as this pushes back all the terms,’ the department said.
It added that the calendar is reviewed annually to ensure that ‘there is no loss in terms of the number of days allocated for schooling.’
Private schools will also begin the year on 14 January, based on guidelines issued by the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA).
However, independent schools will generally have fewer school days than public schools and are not bound to a single national calendar.
ISASA guidelines indicate that most independent schools will finish the year on 4 December. Schools following a four-term system will have 183 school days, while many three-term private schools will operate with 180 days.
Although regional calendars are published as guidance, independent schools retain the flexibility to follow association or school-specific schedules.
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