That’s according to the CEO of the South African Teachers Union CEO, Chris Klopper.

The department wants to make up for lost teaching time.

Klopper says it doesn’t make sense to change the terms and it's unacceptable that no consultations were done with unions.

“When you deal with this particular matter, you must remember that we’re dealing with a serious pandemic.

"Education - like all other sectors - will be affected by it. Teachers are doing their utmost to ensure that the curriculum is covered," Klopper said.

"We must bear in mind that there is a very good reason why school terms are divided into four terms with about 50 days each. If they scrap [the] October holidays, you’re looking at an average term of about 120 days and young people need time to recuperate, they need time to rest and prepare for examinations that will follow in the fourth term.

"It just doesn’t make sense to scrap all of that in anxiety to cover the curriculum while endangering the lives of learners as well as teachers.”

eNCA