The Ministry of Education has officially released the academic calendar for the 2026 academic year, outlining school term dates and national examination schedules for Basic Education Institutions and Diploma Teachers Training Colleges (DTTCs).

The comprehensive calendar is contained in a circular signed by Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok and copied to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) and the Council of Governors.

The circular has been dispatched to all regional, county and sub-county directors of education.

According to the schedule, Basic Education Institutions—covering pre-primary, primary, junior, senior and secondary schools—will open for the 2026 academic year on January 5, 2026.

Term I will run for 13 weeks, closing on April 2, 2026. Learners will have a five-day half-term break from February 25 to March 1, 2026. This will be followed by a three-week April holiday running from April 7 to April 24, 2026.

Term II is scheduled to last 14 weeks, opening on April 27 and closing on July 31, 2026. A second half-term break will take place between June 24 and June 28. Schools will then close for the August holiday, which will run for three weeks and end on August 21.

Term III, the shortest term, will run for nine weeks from August 24 to October 23, 2026.

The circular also confirmed the dates for all major national examinations. The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) will run for five days starting October 26, 2026. The Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and the Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) will also begin on October 26 and run for seven days.

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination will be conducted over three weeks, from November 2 to November 20, 2026.

Following the completion of examinations, students will proceed for the long end-of-year holiday. The December break will last 10 weeks, running from October 26, 2026, to January 1, 2027.

Diploma Teachers Training Colleges will follow a similar academic schedule. However, their third term will be longer, lasting 11 weeks and ending on November 6, 2026. DTTCs will begin their December holiday on November 9.

The Ministry also reiterated an existing restriction affecting secondary schools. The circular states that activities and visits to secondary schools during the third term of 2026 remain prohibited, in line with earlier directives.

The academic calendar applies to all institutions of basic education across the country.