April.

Education Minister, Senator Milton Scott said there were a number of reasons behind the decision to move the celebration of schools, which this year will be entitled "What Does Literacy and Numeracy Mean to You.'' Sen. Scott said: "The theme of this year's Education Month is literacy and numeracy.

"As April is also International Mathematics Month, it makes sense to bring the two celebrations together.

"And now Education Month can also encompass the Spring into the Arts Festival, which will be held from April 23 to 27 and will focus on literacy and numeracy this year.

"Principals have also indicated to us that April is a better time in the school year to celebrate the month, so we will see how it goes this year and then ask schools whether they would like to move it to April permanently.'' The Minister said that during the month, the Ministry would be asking the community to think about what literacy and numeracy really means and why these skills are important.

He added: "We will be asking students, parents and the community to define what they mean by literacy and numeracy.

"We often talk about the importance of literacy and numeracy in our schools but sometimes we just think about reading and forget about other important skills, like comprehension.

"We want to encourage the community to think about literacy and numeracy in the wider context and to think about how they can support schools in raising literacy and numeracy standards.

"We have many teachers doing a great job in our schools and Education Month is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the work that they do, and to think about how we can support them.'' Details of events being held during April will be released by the Education Department soon.