In a dramatic twist, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has backtracked on its earlier announcement and confirmed that schools will open on September 22, 2025, for the 2025/26 academic year.
The clarification comes just hours after the ministry, through its Public Relations Officer, Christopher Kapachika Banda, had announced that schools would instead open on September 15 to allow students who registered for the general elections while in school to take part in the voting process.
However, in a statement released around midnight, the ministry said the opening date remains September 22.
“As such, any communication to the contrary, whether circulating on social media or elsewhere, should be disregarded,” the statement read in part.
The abrupt changes triggered heated debate on social media, with critics and education think tanks faulting the ministry for causing confusion with its last-minute communication
