<P> The National Education Department proposed a five - week - long school break in June--July 2010 for the 2010 Soccer World Cup - hosted in South Africa - to avoid pupil and teacher absenteeism and a chaotic transport system . </P> <P> South African universities have a year consisting of two semesters, with the first semester running from early February to early June, and the second semester from late July to late November . Each semester consists of twelve or thirteen teaching weeks, interrupted by a one - week short vacation, and followed by three or four weeks of examinations . In the first semester the short vacation often falls around the Easter weekend, while in the second semester it occurs in early September . </P> <P> In South Korea, the school year is divided into two terms . The first term usually runs from March 2, unless it is a Friday or the weekend, to mid-July with the summer vacation from mid-July to late - August (elementary and secondary schools) and from mid-June to late August (higher education institutions). The second term usually resumes in late August and runs until mid-February . The winter break is from late December to late January . There are two weeks of school (elementary and secondary schools) in February . Then there is a two - week - break before the new academic year starts in March . </P> <P> The school hours are approximately from 8: 00 am to 4: 00 pm for high school, each class lasting 50 minutes . For middle school, it is about from 8: 00am--3: 30pm, each class lasting 45 minutes . In Primary School, the lower grades (Grades 1 - 3) have classes around 8: 30 to 2: 00 and the upper grades (Grades 4 - 6) have classes from about 9: 00 to 3: 00 . Each class lasts about 40 minutes . In high school, the older students are sometimes required to stay until 9: 00 pm or later studying on their own . For the most part, teachers rotate and the students stay in their classroom except for certain classes such as Physical Education, Music and Science labs . </P>

When does the school year start in korea