All schools will open on January 4 for the first 2021 term including Form Four pupils who will be expected to finish their examinations which spilled into 2021 due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

This time there will be no phased opening.

The opening is for all classes except pupils enrolling for Form One and Form Five who will wait for examination results.

Those going into Form One, who are Grade Seven this year, started writing public examinations last week on Thursday and will finish on 17 December.

Those writing Ordinary Level examinations will have some of their papers overlapping into early next year.

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Director of Communications, Mr Taungana Ndoro said there are no changes in the 2021 school calendar.

“The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education would like to set the record straight that schools will open on 4 January 2021 and not in a phased approach as has been announced on Sunday by one news report.

“Schools will open on 4 January and secondary school classes opening are Form Two, Three, Four and Six,” said Mr Ndoro.