The Ministry of Education has unveiled the school calendar for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year indicating that students will be back to school on September 25 this year and conclude on July 5 of the following year.

According to the calendar released by the ministry on Tuesday, September 5, the academic year will run for 37 weeks. The first term will have 13 weeks, and each of the remaining two terms will have 12 weeks.

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The students will commence their first term on September 25, which will continue until December 22. After a festival break, they will resume classes on January 8 of the following year. The second term will run until March 29. Following this term, the students will begin their last term on April 15, concluding on July 5.

"The Primary Leaving Examinations are scheduled to commence from July 8 to 10, followed by the General and Technical Secondary National Examinations, which will run from July 24 to August 4,” reads part of the statement.

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Marie Louise Abera, a mother of two children, expressed her readiness for the upcoming New Year in an interview with The New Times. She mentioned that the holiday break provided time to prepare for an upcoming academic year.

However, she raised an issue concerning the delayed availability of school calendars. She suggested that it would be more helpful if they could receive the calendars as early as possible to allow for better preparation.

Joseph Iyamarere, a parent with three children attending boarding schools, has also raised similar concerns regarding the timely distribution of calendars. He suggests that in the future, the Ministry could consider providing calendars at least one month in advance.

"Usually, we focus on general preparation, but the calendar is more helpful when it comes to planning in greater detail,” he said

The New Times tried to get a comment from the ministry regarding the raised issue. However, as of the time of publication, the ministry had not yet provided a comment.

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After the calendar is released, it is expected that the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) will also release a travel timetable to assist students who are attending boarding schools.