Government Sets February 10, 2025, as New School Opening Date

Schools are now scheduled to open on February 10, 2025

The Zambian government has just announced a delay in the opening of schools for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Level one, Primary Education Grade 1, and Secondary Education Form 1. Instead of opening on the usual date, schools will now open on Monday, February 10, 2025. This delay is necessary to give the Ministry of Education and its partners time to prepare and distribute teaching materials, as well as train teachers for the affected levels.

The Ministry of Education has some exciting news to share about the new education curriculum. In 2026, they’ll start implementing the 2023 Zambia Education Curriculum for Grade 4 students. This new curriculum is part of a broader effort to transform Zambia’s education system, making it more inclusive and effective. This means that these students will take their Primary School Leaving Examination in Grade 6, alongside Grade 7 students, in 2028. However, The Ministry of Education has designed this change to ensure it can accommodate two cohorts of Primary School Leavers in Form 1 at Secondary School level by 2029.

In 2025, the current examination system will still be in place for Primary and Secondary School levels. However, in 2026, there won’t be a Grade 9 examination, as the Form 1 learners from 2025 will be moving to Form 2. Additionally, the Ministry of Education will introduce Advanced Level Education (A-Levels) at Form 5 in 2026, with the first local A-Level examination scheduled for 2027.