When the academic year 2025 starts, South African parents, educators, and students will be engrossed in discussions about the possible changes to the school holidays in August 2025. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is reconsidering the school calendar following increasing demands for longer breaks that support a student’s well-being and family needs. Long holidays? The article ventures the grounds for reconsideration.
Why Is the Calendar Under Review?
With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the off and on-schools closing came as there was an urgency to reassess the normalcy followed by the academic calendar. Since 1954, South African educationists have reviewed their basic school calendar every so often for its irrelevance to the current era. In 2020, under the current education minister, the Schools Calendar Task Team was constituted to review the school calendar. An eye on stages of the application of this new school calendar would encompass education trauma and well-being. There have been calls in recent years for more evenly spaced school terms to avoid burnout for students and teachers. This new school calendar is also to be balanced amid international standards of education so that South African students would retain the ability to compete internationally. This reassessment is the result of stakeholder consultation, with parent input in designing a calendar that provides for optimum learning while allowing for family schedules.
Potential for Extended August 2025 Holidays
In August 2025, the calendar carries National Women’s Day on the 9th–a public holiday, when school is to sit closed, thereby resulting in a potential long weekend. It has been speculated to stretch this break for a little more repose, given that the heavy load is on the third term (22 July to 3 October), which runs for 54 days with only one public holiday. Parents have rallied behind an extended break so that families might enrich their bonding, plan travels, or perhaps just wind down from academic stress. However, there has yet to be any official confirmation regarding a longer school holiday in August, as the DBE is keeping an ear out for every bit of feedback while wrapping up the calendar.
Advantages of Extending School Holidays
One of the advantages of extending the August holidays would be its release for several factors. For students, time away from school does so much to lessen stress, strengthen mental conditions, and regain focus. Teachers could make use of such breaks to give lessons a new focus or even do some professional development. Holidays allow families to coordinate together better to plan vacations or spend some time in the company of each other, and these are modern-day needs. The consideration of these factors by the DBE is therefore another of the holistic considerations that apply to education, which look at both academic requirements and development as an individual.
Challenges and Considerations
While the long holidays sound attractive, they pose some challenges. The schools have to adjust the curriculum to fulfill the learning objectives within the shorter term, which becomes a burden on the resources. Working parents may find it hard to figure out child care solutions during an extended break, which will call for alternative arrangements like holiday care programs. These matters are being ironed out by the DBE in consultation with stakeholders so that the approach will be as balanced as possible, causing the least disruption with the greatest benefits.
What Should Parents and Students Do?
Parents and students should keep informed by referring to the official website of the Department of Basic Education or Studying School Communications with respect to the 2025 calendar updates. They should plan their holidays or activities within the confirmed breaks, such as during July or October holidays, to avoid clashing with school activities. Apart from that, participating in feedback sessions will, therefore, guarantee that parents’ voices are considered when finalizing the calendar. For now, there is only National Women’s Day during the regular third term break for the year, with the extended holiday still to depend on the final decision of the DBE.
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