School calendars 2026: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda term and exam dates compared

Kenyan schools close for Term 3 on 23 October 2026, and the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) start on 26 October, according to the Ministry of Education's 2026 calendar and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) timetables. Tanzania's Mainland schools now close on 13 November instead of 4 December, and Uganda's Term 3 runs to 4 December. Rwanda opened its 2026/27 school year on 7 September.

The table sets the four calendars side by side. Dates are in 2026 unless a year is shown. Rwanda's school year runs from September to July, so its term rows are for 2026/27 and its exam rows show both the 2026 and 2027 windows. A dash means no date is listed.

Kenya's circular was signed by Julius Bitok, then Principal Secretary for Basic Education, The Star reported. It sets the April holiday at 7–24 April and ends the August holiday on 21 August. The December holiday runs from 26 October to 1 January 2027. Secondary schools remain barred from activities and visits in Term 3: "Activities and visits to secondary schools in the third term of 2026 remain banned as per the earlier circulars," the circular says, as quoted by the Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke on 1 August.

KNEC's timetables fix the exam days. KPSEA runs Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October and KJSEA Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, with morning papers starting at 8.30 a.m. Oral and practical papers for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) begin on Monday 19 October, the first written papers (French, German, Arabic, Kenyan Sign Language, Music) fall on Wednesday 28 October, and English and Chemistry open the main theory papers on Monday 2 November. The last paper, Physics practical, is on Friday 20 November. KCSE sessions start at 8.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m., and candidates must be seated 15 minutes before. Phones are banned in exam centres, and under the rules for all three exams a candidate found with one has his or her results cancelled.

KNEC chief executive David Njengere put the 2026 candidature at 3,634,846, Capital FM reported on 6 October: 1,380,463 in KPSEA, 1,206,028 in KJSEA and 1,048,355 in KCSE, the first year KCSE entries have passed one million.

In Uganda, the Ministry of Education and Sports moved the Term 1 opening from 2 February to 10 February because of the general elections, in a statement signed by Permanent Secretary Dr Kedrace R. Turyagyenda on 16 January, according to the Ugandan news site Eagle Online. The Ugandan news site UG Standard gives Term 2 as 25 May to 21 August. On 3 September the ministry's spokesperson, Dr Dennis Mugimba, said Term 3 would start on 14 September and run 82 days to 4 December; the Daily Monitor said the dates match the calendar circular issued on 24 November 2025. Greater Kampala boarding schools must stagger reporting and closing over two to three days. The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) timetable, reported by the Monitor on 23 September, has the first Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) paper on 12 October and the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) from 30 October to 4 November.

Tanzania's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced on 2 October that Mainland schools will close on 13 November instead of 4 December, the date set by Education Circular No. 06 of 2025, The Citizen reported. The decision was issued by Education Commissioner Dr Lyabwene Mtahabwa, who cited the Tanzania Meteorological Authority's forecast of heavy rain from October to December. The ministry's website lists Education Circular No. 3 of 2026 (Waraka wa Elimu Na. 3 wa Mwaka 2026) on the change of closing dates. On 25 September Deputy Minister Wanu Hafidh Ameir had already moved the national exams, the Daily News reported: Standard 4 from 21–22 October to 5–6 October, Standard 2 from 17–18 November to 7–8 October, Form 2 from 2–13 November to 12–23 October, and Form 4 from 9–27 November to 19 October–6 November.

Rwanda's National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) released the 2026/27 calendar, The New Times reported on 29 July: Term 1 starts on 7 September, Term 2 ends on 2 April 2027 and Term 3 runs from 19 April to 2 July 2027. Practical exams run from 31 May to 18 June 2027. Its 2026 timetable, reported on 4 May, put the PLE on 7–9 July and the O-Level exams on 15–22 July.