All primary and secondary schools are set to close for the third-term break earlier than usual after the Education Ministry released a new school academic calendar for 2024.
In a fresh circular dated 13 October 2023, the ministry pushed term three closing dates two days earlier to pave the way for national exams.
Initially, schools were scheduled to close on October 27, 2023, but the same date will be rehearsal day for KCPE and KPSEA candidates.
After considering this important event, the Ministry has pushed the term three closing date two days earlier when schools reopen next year, meaning learners will break for the third-term holiday on October 25, 2024.
According to the circular, in 2024, the first term will have 13 weeks, the second term 14 weeks, and the third term 9 weeks. Term one will begin on January 8, 2024, and close on April 5, 2024.
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Schools will then proceed for a 3-days half term from February 29 to March 3 before taking a three-week break for the April holiday, beginning April 8 to April 26.
Term two will begin from April 29 to August 2, a period of 14 weeks, with the half-term break set on June 20 to June 23. Learners will then break for the August holiday from August 5 to August 23, which is three weeks.
Notably, there will be no KCPE examination next year, with the candidates expected to sit for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) exams.
The tests will begin from October 28 to October 31, which is four days. The KCSE examination, on the other hand, will run for three weeks, from November 4 to November 22.
Schools will then proceed for the December Holiday from October 2024 to January 3, which is a ten-week holiday.