Extend school holidays

By Daily Revelation Editor

The National Action for Quality Education (NAQEZ) has urged the Ministry of Education to consider revising the one-week holiday given to the students for this first time owing to the dire economic, social and academic repercussions of such a short break.

In a media release, NAQEZ executive director Aaron Chansa argued that the short break would subject parents to financial pressures, with the students suffering stress.

“After meticulously scrutinising the 2024 academic calendar and fully grasping the dire economic, social and academic repercussions of a mere one-week holiday, the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia (NAQEZ) fervently appeals to the Minister of Education to extend the 2024 Term 1 (one) holiday from one week to two weeks,” Chansa stated. “A solitary one-week holiday will subject parents with children in boarding schools to untold financial pressure, while learners will suffer from heightened social and emotional strain as a result of relentless back-to-back travel commitments.”

Chansa is raising a valid point here that deserves a lot of consideration.

We are aware that the one-week holiday has been necessitated on account of the Cholera outbreak which greatly delayed school openings, and as such it was resolved by the authorities that schools would only close for one week going into the second term.

However, the reality is that whether students have been in school for a shorter period or not on account of the late openings, they have felt the impact of going to school and have psychologically been conditioned to be on holiday for one month and not one week. Then even with them reporting for school late, parents especially those taking their children to private schools and those in government boarding schools were still required to pay the necessary school fees charged, in fact full terms fees when the learning period was way shorter this time around, and will still be required to pay the fees when students reopen.

The extended break will therefore accord parents enough time to adequately prepare the fees and other school requirements as opposed to the one week holiday. We are of the considered view that the one week break will only benefit those to whom fees are paid rather than the students and their parents. We urge minister of Education Douglas Syakalima and his team to seriously consider this earnest appeal to extend the break.

If the one week break is considered for extension to two weeks, the Ministry can therefore draw another two weeks from the August holiday to shorten that holiday from one month to two weeks in an effort to make up with the school calendar system, which was disturbed on account of the prolonged closure in the first term.

During these dire economic times, it is surely wise to be considerate as the one-week break is too much especially for the ordinary parents taking their children to public boarding schools and parents for private school going children, sacrificing to take their children to private schools, in the firm belief that the standards in some government schools available may not be up to the standard.