The Ministry of Education has notified the public that the nation’s public and private schools will be closed from today until 7 January 2013 for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The universities work on different schedules and some of them have finished their semester exams while others will begin examinations once school resumes in the New Year. The Ministry also announced that today, Friday 21 December is the Day of the Child, according to the official calendar. In a press release, the Ministry of Education called on families to enjoy the Christmas holidays peacefully, harmoniously and sensibly as a way of enjoying the commemoration of the birth of Jesus.