House Chair, firstly, may I apologise on behalf of Mrs Dudley for her absence today, owing to illness. Clearly, if a question is directed to the wrong Minister, the questions office could also redirect it.
In any case, Minister, the reasoning behind closing schools for five weeks during the Fifa World Cup followed concerns relating to, inter alia, additional strains on infrastructure and transportation, and absenteeism. The proposal was widely supported by hospitality stakeholders, teachers' unions and the national Department of Transport, and we, as the ACDP, support this proposal as long as the actual time spent in classrooms is not affected.
Now, the follow-up question is whether, hon Minister, you have been engaging universities to adopt a similar calendar as surely similar considerations will apply, albeit on a smaller scale. Or do universities' calendars in any event accommodate the five weeks during the Soccer World Cup? This should make sense as university students could then try to earn extra money during the Soccer World Cup and hostel rooms could be utilised for accommodation, again, clearly, as long as academic standards are not compromised during this position.