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The Ministry of Education has officially released the 2026 academic calendar dates which indicate all opening and closing dates for learners in pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, as well as Diploma Teachers Training Colleges (DTTCs) across the country.
In a circular dated October 9 2025, the Ministry said all schools will open for the first term on January 5, 2026, and close on April 2, 2026, after 13 weeks of learning. Students will take a five-day half-term break from February 25 to March 1, 2026, with the April holiday set for three weeks, from April 7 to April 24, 2026.
Schools will reopen for second term on April 27, during which learners will study for 14 weeks, until July 31, 2026.
A second half term will take place between June 24 and June 28. This will be followed by a three-week August holiday, which ends on August 21.
Students to no longer collect KCPE, KCSE certificates from their schools
The Third term will be the shortest, with learners set to study for nine weeks from August 24 to October 23, 2026. As usual, there will be no mid-term break in the third term.
The conclusion of the third term will pave the way for all major national examinations set to begin on October 26, 2026, across different levels of the new competency-based curriculum.
The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will begin on October 26, 2026, and end on October 29, while the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) will also start on the same date.
The Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) is set to commence on November 2, 2026
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will take place over three weeks from November 2 to November 20, 2026. December long holidays will run for 10 weeks, beginning on October 26 and ending on January 1, 2027.
Diploma Colleges
According to the circular, diploma teacher training colleges will follow a similar schedule. The colleges will open on January 6, 2026, and close on April 2, 2026, for the first term.
The second term will run from April 27 to July 31, while the third term will begin on August 24 and end on November 6, 2026. They will then proceed on a holiday from the December holiday on November 9, 2026, and end the same on January 1, 2027.
