The Ministry of Education has announced its decision to close schools on the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Following changes to the academic calendar, the ministry has also changed the end date of the second term of the 2023 academic year and the commencement date of the 2024 academic year. The second term of the 2023 academic year began on January 7 this year and will end on April 30. Previously, the second term was scheduled to end on June 13.
Additionally, the ministry decided to change the academic calendar after the government declared the last 10 days of Ramadan as public holidays. As such, students and teachers will have a mid-term break from March 31 to April 12, which includes the last 10 days of Ramadan and three days of Eid ul-Fitr holidays.
According to the new academic calendar, students who complete their second term will go on annual leave on May 2. Previously, the annual leave was scheduled for June 16. Teachers are due to report to schools on May 22 to start the new academic year after a three-week break. The new academic year will now commence on May 26, while it was originally scheduled to start on July 31.
With the changes in the calendar, students will have a total of 78 school days in the second term, which is a reduction from the initial 108 days. In addition to these changes, the ministry has also released the provisional academic calendar for 2024. The first term of the 2024 academic year will be held from May 26 to September 26 and the second term will be held from October 6 to February 20. The students will receive 180 days of schooling in the 2024 academic year and begin the 2025 academic year on March 9, 2025.