When do Kenyan schools open and close in 2027?

Kenyan pre-primary, primary, junior, senior and secondary schools open for Term One on Monday 4 January 2027 and finish Term Three on 5 November 2027, according to the Ministry of Education's 2027 academic calendar. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations run from 8 to 26 November 2027. Teacher training colleges open a day later, on 5 January.

The circular is dated 19 October 2026, carries the reference MOE.HQS/3/13/3/VOL III and is signed by John Ololtuaa, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Basic Education. The dates below are from the circular's tables as published by three Kenyan news websites, Education News Hub, Pulse Kenya (on 4 November) and Biznakenya. The three sets of tables match.

Pre-primary, primary and junior school:

Senior and secondary schools:

Source: Ministry of Education 2027 academic calendar circular, 19 October 2026, as published by Education News Hub and Pulse Kenya.

Both groups share the same term-opening days: 4 January, 3 May and 30 August. Senior schools close Term One on 2 April, a week before primary and junior schools (9 April), and both return on 3 May. The two half-terms fall on the same dates for both groups, 19 to 28 February and 9 to 20 June.

The national assessments for primary and junior school are listed for the last week of Term Three, 1 to 5 November. KPSEA is the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment, taken at the end of Grade 6, and KJSEA is the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment, taken at the end of Grade 9. KILEA and KPLEA are listed alongside them for the same five days.

In the senior and secondary school calendar, the December holiday starts on 6 November, the day after Term Three ends, and runs to 3 January 2028. The KCSE examinations, from 8 to 26 November, fall within that holiday. Primary and junior schools start the December holiday on 8 November.

Diploma teacher training colleges follow their own calendar, with terms labelled as in the published tables: