The Ministry of Education (MoE) has officially released the 2026 academic calendar for all basic education institutions and Diploma Teachers Training Colleges (DTTCs), setting clear term dates, holidays, and national assessment periods.
In a circular dated October 9, 2025, and signed by Principal Secretary Amb. (Prof) Julius Bitok, the ministry outlined term schedules for pre-primary, primary, junior school, senior school, secondary schools, as well as teacher training colleges, in line with the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
According to the calendar, Term One for basic education institutions will open on January 5, 2026, and close on April 2, 2026, lasting 13 weeks.
The learners will observe a half-term break from February 25 to March 1, followed by a three-week April holiday running from April 7 to April 24.
Term Two will begin on April 27 and end on July 31, 2026, spanning 14 weeks, with a mid-term break scheduled for June 24 to June 28. Schools will then break for the August holiday from August 3 to August 21.
Term Three will run from August 24 to October 29, 2026, covering nine weeks, after which candidates will sit for national assessments and examinations.
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The ministry has scheduled several national assessments during the final term.
The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will be conducted from October 26 to October 29, while the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) will run from October 26 to October 30.
The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) will take place between October 26 and November 5.
The KCSE examinations are slated for November 2 to November 20, 2026.
Following the examinations, learners will proceed for a 10-week December holiday from October 26, 2026, to January 1, 2027.
For Diploma Teachers Training Colleges, the academic year will begin slightly later, with term one opening on January 6, 2026 and closing on April 2, 2026.
DTTCs will observe similar holiday breaks, with term three ending on November 6, 2026, followed by an eight-week December holiday.
The ministry further directed that the circular be distributed to all institutions and emphasised that activities and visits to secondary schools during the third term of 2026 remain banned, in line with previous guidelines.
By Kithinji Njeru
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