According to the gazette, the new school terms are:
- term 1: Jan 15 – March 18;
- term 2: June 8 (postponed from June 1) – August 7;
- term 3: August 12 - September 23; and
- term 4: October 5 – December 15
Schools reopened on Monday after being closed due to the national lockdown. However, only grade 12 and 7 pupils - the school-leaving grades - have returned. Other grades are to be phased in over the next two months.
The grade 12 and 7 pupils were meant to go back on June 1, but schools were deemed not ready and the return delayed a week.
Asked whether, in the light of the delays, the education department was confident that the other classes' return would be successful, spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said: "The reopening of schools this week will help in giving the sector a sense of what it will take to receive the next cohort of learners.
"Our monitoring does indicate that schools will be in a position to manage the return of the other grades."