New dates for vacation school

Remember Deketeke, Herald Correspondent

Vacation school for examination classes will run for the first two weeks of school holidays instead of the final two weeks.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has amended dates for the three examination classes from August 19-30 to August 9-22.

The two-week  vacation school is designed to provide additional learning opportunities for Grade 7, Form Four, and Upper Six students during the August holiday.  They will stay at school when the rest of the classes go home, still get a fortnight’s break and return with the rest of the classes for the third term.

The change in dates was announced by the Permanent Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Moses Mhike on Friday, in the Secretary’s Circular Number 6 of 2024.

“Following the release of the Secretary’s Circular Number 6 of 2024 on the above subject matter and the engagements that followed thereafter, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education informs that the Vacation School for August holidays will run from August 9 to August 22 for all schools,” reads the circular.”

“The timeframe of August 19 to 30 as given earlier is cancelled. The rest of the Secretary’s Circular Number 6 of 2024 content remains the same.”

Mr Mhike said this will allow candidates to make the most of students’ study time as they get ready for important examinations at the end of the year.

“Travel costs for boarders will be curtailed while supervision and monitoring of the vacation school by the Inspectorate will follow a standard timeframe for all schools,” he said.

All relevant stakeholders, including chief directors, provincial education directors, district schools inspectors, heads of primary and secondary Schools, National Association of Secondary Heads, the Association of Trust Schools, church education secretaries, teacher associations, and responsible authorities were advised to adhere to the revised dates and ensure that their schools were informed and prepared for the changes.

This development means schools and teachers are expected to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate the new vacation school schedule, including teaching staff, preparing learning materials, and ensuring that facilities are ready to support the continued education of examination classes during the holiday period.