Online Reporter
By Samuel Mwale
Schools are officially on holiday, at least on paper.
In reality, however, many pupils are once again expected to trade their well-earned break for classrooms, extra lessons and revision camps, perpetuating a troubling culture that increasingly treats every school holiday as an opportunity for additional academic instruction rather than rest, reflection and holistic development.
The school term may have ended according to the academic calendar, but for countless learners and parents, the familiar cycle of weekend lessons, holiday lessons and vacation classes has already begun. What was once intended as a targeted intervention to assist struggling learners has, in many instances, evolved into a thriving parallel education industry whose educational value deserves closer scrutiny.
Education is meant to develop the whole child: intellectually, physically, emotionally, socially, morally and spiritually. It is for this reason that school calendars across the world are deliberately designed with terms interspersed by holidays and breaks. These intervals are not accidental. They are informed by decades of educational research recognising that learning, reflection, rest, play and social development are all essential components of human growth.
Yet an increasingly troubling trend has emerged. The relentless expansion of weekend lessons and holiday classes has blurred the distinction between school term and vacation.
The result is an education system in which many children move from one classroom session to another with little opportunity to experience the broader aspects of childhood and adolescence.
The purpose of school holidays
The modern school calendar did not emerge by chance. Educational theorists such as John Dewey emphasised that education should not merely focus on academic instruction but on preparing learners for life in society. Jean Piaget’s work on cognitive development demonstrated that children learn not only through direct teaching but also through exploration, experience and reflection.
Contemporary cognitive science reinforces these principles. Research into memory and learning indicates that the brain requires periods of rest to consolidate knowledge. Learning is often strengthened when periods of intense academic engagement are followed by opportunities for reflection and recovery. This is one reason why educational systems throughout the world incorporate holidays and term breaks at strategically planned intervals.
School holidays serve several important educational purposes: allowing learners to recover mentally and emotionally, enabling teachers to recharge professionally, providing opportunities for sports, arts and cultural activities, facilitating family interaction and community engagement, encouraging spiritual growth and character development, and promoting independent reading and self-directed learning.
When holidays are transformed into continuous classroom sessions, many of these benefits are lost.
What is left to teach?
A question increasingly asked by parents and education stakeholders is straightforward: “What exactly remains to be taught during weekends and holidays that could not be taught during the prescribed school term?”
Teachers are allocated entire terms, supported by timetables, curricula and assessment schedules, specifically to deliver approved syllabi.
If entire classes routinely require additional lessons outside the school term merely to complete curriculum requirements, legitimate questions arise regarding instructional planning, classroom efficiency and utilisation of normal teaching time.
While unexpected disruptions may occasionally justify supplementary instruction, the systematic expectation that every learner must attend extra lessons suggests deeper concerns that deserve examination.
Remedial programmes designed for learners who are falling behind are both logical and educationally defensible. However, compelling entire classes, grades or schools to attend weekend and holiday lessons regardless of their academic standing is a fundamentally different matter.
The commercialisation of education
One cannot examine the phenomenon without considering the financial incentives involved.
In many private institutions, teachers receive limited or no remuneration during school vacations. Consequently, holiday lessons become an important source of supplementary income. Similar trends have emerged within parts of the public education sector, where educators facing economic pressures may seek additional earnings through extra tuition.
The problem is not that teachers need fair compensation. They do. The concern is that the system creates a potential conflict of interest.
When income depends upon additional lessons, there is an inherent temptation, whether conscious or unconscious, to present ordinary classroom instruction as insufficient.
Parents are frequently warned that their children risk falling behind unless they enrol in holiday classes. Examination pressures are amplified, and a sense of urgency is created around programmes that may not be educationally necessary.
While many teachers conduct themselves with professionalism and integrity, the structure itself creates opportunities for abuse by less scrupulous operators.
Manufacturing Academic Anxiety
Education should be built on learning, not fear.
Yet some schools and educators increasingly rely on a narrative that ordinary classroom teaching is no longer enough. Parents are led to believe that their child’s academic future depends upon sacrificing weekends, holidays and family time in favour of continuous tuition.
This creates what economists might describe as an artificial demand. A perceived crisis is identified. Anxiety is generated. An additional service is then offered as the solution.
The risk is that parents become trapped in an educational arms race where refusing extra lessons is seen as placing their children at a disadvantage, regardless of whether such lessons add genuine educational value.
The forgotten child
Perhaps the greatest casualty of this culture is the learner.
Children are not examination-writing machines. They are developing human beings whose growth requires balance. The World Health Organisation, educational psychologists and child development experts consistently emphasise the importance of physical activity, social interaction, recreation and emotional wellbeing.
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development highlights the importance of social experiences in building identity, confidence and interpersonal competence.
Weekends and holidays traditionally provide opportunities for sporting participation, church and faith-based activities, family bonding, community engagement, leadership development, creative arts & innovation, and rest & recreation.
These experiences contribute significantly to the formation of responsible, balanced and resilient adults. A child who spends every weekend and vacation in a classroom may achieve higher examination scores, but may simultaneously miss opportunities to develop equally important life skills such as teamwork, empathy, leadership, communication and character.
The myth that more hours mean better results
Another misconception underpinning the extra lesson culture is the belief that more instructional hours automatically produce superior academic outcomes. Educational research suggests otherwise. The quality of instruction matters far more than the quantity. Effective teaching, well-designed learning activities, learner engagement and timely assessment contribute more to educational success than simply increasing classroom time.
Indeed, excessive academic schedules can result in learner fatigue, diminished concentration and burnout. Beyond a certain point, additional teaching may produce declining educational returns.
The answer to educational challenges is therefore not necessarily more lessons, but better lessons.
Teachers need rest too
The issue is not limited to learners.
Teachers are professionals whose effectiveness depends upon adequate rest, preparation and professional renewal. Research across multiple professions demonstrates that fatigue reduces productivity, creativity and performance.
School holidays provide opportunities for lesson planning, skills development, family engagement and personal wellbeing. An education system that expects continuous teaching throughout weekends and vacations risks creating exhausted educators whose effectiveness ultimately declines.
Protecting school holidays also protects teaching quality.
Time for Government intervention
Given the growing prevalence of compulsory or quasi-compulsory extra lessons, policymakers should consider stronger regulatory oversight.
Government intervention need not prohibit remedial education altogether. Rather, it should establish safeguards that prevent exploitation while preserving legitimate academic support.
Possible measures include restricting compulsory holiday lessons, clearly defining circumstances under which remedial classes may occur, prohibiting discrimination against learners who do not attend optional lessons, monitoring the commercial practices of educational institutions, strengthening teacher remuneration frameworks, promoting holiday programmes centred on sports, entrepreneurship, technology, arts and community service rather than purely academic activities.
Such policies would recognise that education extends beyond examination preparation.
A return to educational common sense
The architects of modern school calendars understood a simple but profound truth: learning requires rhythm. Just as athletes require recovery periods between competitions, the human mind benefits from cycles of effort and rest.
School holidays are not interruptions to education. They are part of education.
Remedial lessons for deserving learners who require additional support are both reasonable and compassionate. However, turning every weekend and every school holiday into yet another academic term undermines the very educational principles upon which school calendars were originally designed.
A society that measures success solely by examination results risks producing academically accomplished yet socially, emotionally and spiritually underdeveloped citizens. We should therefore resist the growing commercialisation of children’s time and reaffirm a more balanced vision of education, one that values not only academic achievement but also the development of healthy, responsible and well-rounded human beings.
The question we must ask is not whether children can attend more lessons. It is whether they should. For in the pursuit of ever more classroom hours, we may be sacrificing the very experiences that make education meaningful and life worth living.
Samuel Mwale writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted On Email: [email protected]; Mobile/ WhatsApp: +263773435974.
