Lagos Adjusts 2022/2023 Harmonised School Calendar

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The harmonised calendar for public and private primary and secondary schools in Lagos State has been adjusted by the Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) to make room for the 2023 general elections.

In February and March, the country goes to the polls to elect a new president, members of the National Assembly, governors and members of the state houses of assembly.

Over the weekend, OEQA disclosed in a statement that it had adjusted a change in the dates earlier slated for the mid-term break of the second term in the harmonised school calendar.

According to the agency, the mid-term break is now Friday, March 3 and not the earlier Friday, February 24, 2023. It further stated that the new date had been approved by the Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo.

The Director-General of OEQA, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting recently, explained that the essence of the engagement was to ensure that everybody was on the same page as regards the second-term school activities and the need to accommodate the forthcoming general elections in its entirety.

Mrs Seriki-Ayeni, who was represented at the event by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at OEQA, Mr Remi Abdul, noted that the earlier dates for the mid-term break fall within the election period, hence the need for a shift in the date for a week to allow parents pick up their wards from school without hindrance due to the restriction of movement associated with the election days.

She also noted that another important reason for the change of dates bothers safeguarding and child protection and convenience as a result of the presidential and National Assembly elections slated for Saturday, February 25, 2023, coinciding with the date boarding school students are expected to resume in the schedule for the second term harmonised 2022/2023 academic calendar.

“In furtherance to the change, the first half of the second term is to hold from the 9th of January to Thursday, February 23, 2023, whilst Open Day for Primary schools will be on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, and Thursday, February 23, 2023, for secondary schools,” she added.