Education ministry restructures 2027 school calendar, extends mid-term breaks
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
The Ministry of Education has reorganised the 2027 school calendar, extending mid-term breaks and redistributing holidays in changes that follow widespread unrest in schools witnessed during the second term of 2026.
The revised calendar reduces the second term from 14 weeks to 13 weeks across all school levels, while extending the third term from nine to 10 weeks.
Learners will also have longer mid-term breaks, with the February holiday increasing from five days to nine days for pre-primary, primary and junior schools, and 10 days for senior and secondary schools.
The June half-term break will similarly increase from five days to 11 days for primary and junior schools, and 12 days for senior and secondary schools.
The changes follow an announcement by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba in June that the Ministry would rationalise the school calendar to ensure a more balanced distribution of learning time, following unrest that affected 204 schools.
The Ministry attributed some of the unrest to learner fatigue, alongside other factors including examination pressure, leadership challenges, poor boarding conditions, peer pressure and substance abuse.
In October, Ogamba appointed a 52-member multi-stakeholder task team, chaired by Professor Peter Mulwa Mbithi, to investigate the causes of unrest in schools and recommend reforms to improve learner welfare, safety and discipline.
Under the new calendar, the 2027 academic year will begin on January 4, with pre-primary, primary and junior schools closing for the first term on April 9, after 14 weeks.
This is one week longer than the 13-week first term in 2026.
Education CS Julius Ogamba addressing police officers during the distribution of KCSE examination materials at Kibera DCC offices in Nairobi on November 4, 2026.
Learners will break for the first half-term holiday from February 19 to 28, before proceeding for the April holiday from April 10 to May 2, which will last three weeks.
For senior and secondary schools, Term One will also begin on January 4 but close earlier, on April 2, lasting 13 weeks. Their February half-term break will run from February 19 to 28, followed by the April holiday from April 3 to May 2, lasting four weeks.
Term Two will open on May 3 for all school levels and close on July 30, lasting 13 weeks, compared with 14 weeks in 2026.
The second half-term break will run from June 9 to 20, giving primary and junior school learners 11 days away from school, while senior and secondary school learners will have 12 days.
The August holiday will begin on July 31 and end on August 29, lasting four weeks, compared with three weeks in 2026.
Term Three will open on August 30 and close on November 5, lasting 10 weeks, one week longer than the nine-week term in 2026.
Primary and junior school learners will sit the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA), Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA), Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) and Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) between November 1 and 5.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations will begin on November 8 and run until November 26.
The December holiday will begin on November 8 for pre-primary, primary and junior schools, while senior and secondary schools will break on November 6. Both groups are scheduled to reopen on January 4, 2028.
The end-of-year holiday has consequently been reduced from 10 weeks to eight weeks.
How the calendar has changed
The 2027 calendar marks a shift from the 2025 and 2026 academic schedules, which maintained a similar structure of 13 weeks for Term One, 14 weeks for Term Two and nine weeks for Term Three.
In 2027, the Ministry has extended Term One to 14 weeks for pre-primary, primary and junior schools, while retaining 13 weeks for senior and secondary schools.
Term Two has been shortened by one week across all school levels, while Term Three has gained an additional week.
The Ministry has also extended the August holiday from three to four weeks and shortened the December holiday from 10 to eight weeks.
The February and June half-term breaks, which lasted five days each in both 2025 and 2026, have also been extended.
The changes redistribute learning time across the academic year, with learners getting longer breaks during the first two terms and a shorter end-of-year holiday.
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