All schools in the country will start at 9am from today and this will remain even after Daylight Savings is over in April.
It has also been confirmed that none of the schools should extend classes, which means that classes should end at the normal time and there should be no extension.
The Prime Minister=s Office had a meeting with the Education Ministry and Land Transport Authority officials earlier today and a number of issues have been clarified.
Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister=s Office, Lt Colonel Pio Tikoduadua said firstly all parents and students should realize that the starting time for school is now 9am to ensure that every student is in classroom before classes commence.
He said people should also take into account how difficult it is for students who live in the rural areas and the issues they had previously faced when school was starting at 8am.
Lt Colonel Tikoduadua said talks will also be held with the bus operators but certain issues have to be taken into account.
And on the issue of the students who arrive earlier than 9am, Lt Colonel Tikoduadua said the teachers have the responsibility to give assignments and reading time to students before class officially commence.
Tikoduadua makes it clear that this move to 9am is not about Daylight Savings. He said the change from 8am to 9am is to get all students to start school at the same time.
Feature
All schools will start from 9am
