School holidays are often treated as wasted time, yet they serve an important purpose in the education cycle. They give learners, teachers and families an opportunity to rest, recover and prepare for the next phase of learning.
In Uganda, however, the growing practice of keeping students in school during holidays for so-called “holiday teaching” deserves serious scrutiny.
While additional academic support can be beneficial to learners who genuinely need it, the indiscriminate extension of school programmes into official holidays risks undermining the very education system it is intended to strengthen.
The brain needs a break
The human brain is not a machine. Continuous learning without adequate rest can result in mental fatigue, reduced concentration, diminished motivation and poor retention.
For learners, a holiday provides an opportunity to consolidate knowledge acquired during the term. It also allows them to engage in activities outside the classroom, spend time with their families and develop social and life skills that are equally important to their growth.
A learner who returns to school mentally refreshed is more likely to concentrate, participate actively and perform better than one who has spent virtually the entire year in classrooms.
Teachers, too, need time away from the classroom.
Teaching is both mentally and emotionally demanding. Beyond delivering lessons, teachers prepare schemes of work, mark examinations, manage classrooms, guide learners and deal with numerous administrative responsibilities.
A teacher who is constantly exhausted cannot be expected to consistently deliver their best.
Holidays therefore provide teachers with an opportunity to recover, attend to personal and family responsibilities, reflect on their teaching and prepare adequately for the next term.
Parents also need a break
The debate about school holidays should not focus only on teachers and learners. Parents are equally affected.
When schools continuously demand additional fees for holiday programmes, parents face an extra financial burden. For families already struggling with school fees and other household expenses, compulsory or excessive holiday charges can be particularly difficult.
More importantly, holidays give parents an opportunity to spend meaningful time with their children.
A child’s education does not begin and end in the classroom. Parents play an important role in instilling discipline, values, responsibility and good behaviour. Time at home can strengthen the relationship between parents and children and allow families to identify areas where learners may need support.
Let the school calendar serve its purpose
The Ministry of Education and Sports provides a national school calendar intended to guide the operation of schools and ensure an organised education system.
The calendar is not merely an administrative timetable. It is designed to provide periods for teaching and learning, assessment, preparation and rest.
Schools should therefore respect the official calendar and operate within the framework established by the Ministry.
Where additional academic support is genuinely necessary, it should be provided in a manner that is consistent with the law, education policy and the welfare of learners and teachers.
The holiday period should not become an opportunity for schools to turn education into a continuous commercial enterprise.
A call to education authorities
District Education Officers, inspectors of schools and other education authorities have an important responsibility to ensure that schools comply with national education policies.
They should monitor how schools conduct holiday programmes and ensure that learners and teachers are not subjected to unnecessary academic pressure.
Parents and learners should also be encouraged to report cases where participation in holiday programmes is made compulsory or where excessive charges are imposed without proper justification.
At the same time, enforcement should be balanced. Not every holiday academic activity should automatically be viewed as exploitation. Some learners may genuinely benefit from remedial support, revision or specialised preparation.
The key issue is whether such programmes are lawful, necessary, affordable and respectful of the welfare of both learners and teachers.
Rest is part of education
Uganda’s education system must move away from the assumption that more classroom hours automatically translate into better academic performance.
Quality matters as much as quantity.
A tired learner is not necessarily a better learner. An exhausted teacher is not necessarily a more productive teacher.
Rest is not idleness. It is part of preparation for better performance.
If we want learners to return to school motivated, focused and ready to learn, we must give them adequate time to rest. If we want teachers to deliver quality instruction, we must give them an opportunity to recover and prepare.
Education is a marathon, not a sprint.
Respecting school holidays is therefore not about discouraging hard work. It is about creating a healthier and more effective education system in which learners can learn, teachers can teach and parents can participate meaningfully in the upbringing of their children.
Uganda should therefore uphold the spirit of the school calendar and ensure that school holidays remain what they are intended to be: a necessary period for rest, reflection, family and preparation for the next term.
The Writer, Dr Gad A. Rugaju, PhD is the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Kanungu District
