# The Department of Basic Education has announced two different school opening dates for the first term this year to accommodate people who had travelled during the festive season. Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says the staggered calendar will see schools in the inland provinces which include Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West going back to school on Wednesday the 12th of January while pupils in the coastal provinces which consist of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape will be back the 19th of January.