Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has reaffirmed that the 2026 school calendar remains unchanged, with all basic education institutions set to reopen for the third term on August 24.
Ogamba issued the clarification following the circulation of claims on social media that the Ministry of Education had revised the school calendar for basic education institutions and Teacher Training Colleges.
The CS urged parents, teachers and learners to disregard the unverified information, saying the government had not announced any changes to the approved dates.
He confirmed that pre-primary, primary, junior school, senior school and secondary school learners will all report back on August 24.
“Our attention has been drawn to misleading information circulating on various social media platforms, purporting that the academic calendar for basic education institutions and Teacher Training Colleges has been changed. We wish to clarify that the academic calendar for basic education institutions and Teacher Training Colleges remains unchanged,” CS Ogamba stated.
The third term will run for nine weeks, ending on October 23, ahead of the national assessment and examination period.
The first assessments will begin on October 26, with the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) scheduled to run until October 29. The Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) will be administered from October 26 to October 30.
Candidates undertaking the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and the Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) will sit their assessments between October 26 and November 5.
Meanwhile, candidates for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination will begin their papers on November 2, with the national examination scheduled to conclude on November 20.
The Ministry has also maintained restrictions on activities and visits to secondary schools during the third term.
According to the ministry, the ban, which was communicated through earlier circulars, will remain in effect throughout the term and examination period.
“Activities and visits to secondary schools in the third term of 2026 remain banned as per the earlier circulars,” the ministry stated.
The directive means learners in secondary schools will remain in school throughout the examination period and will only return home once the term officially ends.
