The Zambian Ministry of Education has announced that the start of the school term for all public and private Colleges of Education has been pushed back to January 29th, 2024 due to the ongoing cholera outbreak in the country.
The postponement of the College openings was revealed in a press statement issued by the Permanent Secretary of Education — Administration, Ms. Noriana Muneku, on January 13th from Lusaka. She stated that the decision aligns with the previous announcement made on January 4th by the Minister of Education, Hon. Douglas M. Syakalima, which delayed the start of the school term for primary and secondary schools.
Ms. Muneku highlighted that the extended holiday period would allow time for College administrators to thoroughly clean their campuses and put in place proper hygiene measures before students return on the new designated start date of the 29th of January.
Additionally, the first school term for Colleges of Education will only run for two weeks instead of the typical four weeks. institutions are now scheduled to close on April 26th, 2024. After a two week holiday, the second academic term will resume on May 13th, 2024 as originally planned.
The statement emphasized that all public and private College heads must comply with the adjusted calendar and utilize the coming weeks to ensure cholera prevention standards are met before students arrive back on campuses across Zambia later this month.
