The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has asked schools to move a Common Task for Assessment (CTA) for Grade 9s from Monday to Tuesday next week (16 November 2004) to facilitate `Eid Al-Fitr celebrations.

The festival of `Eid Al-Fitr signifies the conclusion of the fast by Muslims during the month of Ramadan.

Grade 9 learners are writing national CTAs countrywide as part of their assessment for the final year of General Education and Training (GET) in schools.

The national Department of Education (DoE) originally understood that `Eid Al-Fitr would fall on the weekend of 13 and 14 November 2004 when it set the national CTA timetable earlier this year.

The Muslim community has expressed concern that `Eid Al-Fitr might fall on a day following the weekend of 13 and 14 November, when Section B of the CTA in Natural Sciences is due to be written.

For this reason, at the DoE's request, the WCED issued a circular earlier this week asking schools to write the CTA on Tuesday, 16 November, from 12h00 to 14h00, and not on Monday, 15 November, as originally planned.

Inquiries:
Paddy Attwell
Director of Communication
Western Cape Education Department