NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ministry of Education has released the official school calendar for 2026, detailing opening and closing dates for basic education institutions and Diploma Teacher Training Colleges (DTTC).
In a circular dated 9 October 2025, Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok directed Regional, County, and Sub-County Directors to disseminate the schedule to all relevant institutions.
Term Dates for Basic Education
- Term I runs from January 5 to April 2, 2026 (13 weeks). A half-term break is scheduled from 25 February to 1 March.
- The April holiday begins on 7 April and ends on 24 April.
- Term II starts 27 April and ends 31 July (14 weeks). A half-term break is slated for 24–28 June.
- The August holiday extends from 3 to 21 August.
- Term III opens 24 August and closes 23 October (9 weeks).
During the third term, national assessments and examinations will be held:
- Kenya Primary School Education Assessment(KPSEA) over four days, 26–29 October
- Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment(KILEA) across five days, 26–30 October
- Kenya Junior School Education Assessment(KJSEA) & Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment(KPLEA) over seven days, 26 October – 5 November
- Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education(KCSE) exams over three weeks, 2–20 November
The year’s end-of-year break begins on 26 October and runs for 10 weeks, concluding on 1 January 2027.
DTTC Calendar
The calendar for Diploma Teacher Training Colleges has slight modifications:
- Term I: 6 January – 2 April (13 weeks)
- Term II: 27 April – 31 July (14 weeks)
- Term III: 24 August – 6 November (11 weeks)
- The DTTC December holiday runs from 9 November to 1 January 2027 (8 weeks)
PS Bitok emphasized that this circular should be distributed to every basic education institution under the jurisdiction of the education officials.
Importantly, activities and visits to secondary schools during the third term remain banned, following prior ministry directives.
This advance release of the 2026 calendar gives schools, parents, and students clarity for planning holidays, assessments, and institutional activities well ahead of the coming year.
