Correspondent
By Africa Hotspot Correspondent (Johannesburg)
The South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) has sparked a massive holiday debate after Minister Siviwe Gwarube published a Government Gazette notice on 4 November 2025, calling for public comment on a major overhaul of the school calendar policy.
This is not a small tweak—the DBE is moving to permanently scrap the staggered school calendar that has long separated the term dates for inland and coastal provinces.
This single change is set to disrupt how millions of South African families plan their annual leave and travel.For years, coastal provinces started a week later than their inland counterparts, a system designed partly to ease holiday traffic flow.
The new, proposed policy amendment officially abolishes this regional distinction, ensuring all nine provinces follow a single, unified national calendar .
Crucially, the amendment dictates that all public schools must now open in the third week of January, standardising the academic start across the country.
This shift aims to simplify scheduling, reduce parental confusion, and prevent the loss of instructional time that can occur with later starts.
This move is part of the ongoing push to harmonise education across the country, but it requires public buy-in.
Minister Gwarube is explicitly inviting all interested persons and organisations—especially parents and educators—to submit their views on this pivotal change before the deadline, which typically falls about one month after the Gazette’s publication date.
