Education Ministry Publishes 2027 School Calendar With Term Dates and Exams

The Ministry of Education has issued the academic calendar for 2027, setting out opening dates, term periods and examination windows for all basic education levels and teacher-training colleges.

The circular, signed by Principal Secretary John L. Ololtuaa, bears the date October 19, 2026 in one report and October 19, 2027 in another; it was addressed to regional, county and sub-county education directors and copied to the Education Cabinet Secretary, the Teachers Service Commission, the Kenya National Examinations Council and the Council of Governors.

For pre-primary, primary and junior schools the first term will run fourteen weeks from January 4 to April 9, with a nine-day half-term break between 19 and February 28, followed by a three-week holiday from April 10 to May 2. The second term spans thirteen weeks from May 3 to July 30, includes an eleven-day mid-term pause from 9 to June 20 and a four-week August break from July 31 to August 29. The third term lasts ten weeks from August 30 to November 5, during which the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, Kenya Junior School Education Assessment, Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment and Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment will be held over five days from 1 to November 5. Schools then close for an eight-week December holiday running from November 8 to January 3, 2028.

Senior and secondary schools follow a similar pattern with minor variations. Their first term covers thirteen weeks from January 4 to April 2, with a ten-day half-term from 19 to February 28 and a four-week break from April 3 to May 2. The second term also lasts thirteen weeks from May 3 to July 30, with a twelve-day mid-term break from 9 to June 20 and the same August holiday. The third term runs ten weeks from August 30 to November 5, after which the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations will be conducted from 8 to November 26, a three-week period. The December break for these schools is scheduled from November 6 to January 3, 2028.

Teacher-training colleges operate on a separate timetable. They commence on January 5, 2027, a day after schools, and label their periods differently. The initial block, called Term Two, runs thirteen weeks until April 2, followed by a three-week break from 5 to April 23. Term Three extends from April 26 to July 30 for fourteen weeks, after which a three-week August recess occurs from 2 to August 20. The final block, Term One, starts on August 23 and ends on November 12, lasting eleven weeks. An eight-week holiday concludes the year from November 15 to January 8, 2028.

The KCSE examinations in 2027 will be the last cohort assessed under the former 8-4-4 system before the full transition to the Competency-Based Education framework.