2027 School Calendar Out: Earlier Opening, Later Closing, Longer Half-Terms
The Ministry of Education’s 2027 academic calendar, dated 19th October 2026, departs from the 2026 calendar in several ways.
Learners start school earlier and finish later, half-terms are longer, and the year-end holiday is shorter. For the first time in the two documents compared here, primary and secondary schools also get separate term dates.
Separate calendars for primary and secondary
The 2026 circular gave one set of term dates for pre-primary, primary, junior, senior and secondary schools. The 2027 circular splits them.
Term I shows the difference. Pre-primary, primary and junior schools open on 4th January and close on 9th April, a 14-week term.
Senior and secondary schools open the same day but close a week earlier, on 2nd April, after 13 weeks. This also gives secondary learners a longer April holiday, four weeks against three for primary.
An earlier start and a later finish
Schools will reopen on 4th January 2027, two days earlier than the 6th January opening in 2026.
The bigger shift is at the end of the year. In 2026, Term III closes on 23rd October after nine weeks. In 2027, Term III runs from 30th August to 5th November, ten weeks, so schools stay open about two weeks longer.
National assessments and KCSE move later
Assessment dates move with the term. In 2026, KPSEA, KILEA, KJSEA and KPLEA are staggered across 26th October to 5th November.
In 2027, all four assessments (KPSEA, KILEA, KJSEA and KPLEA) are listed in a single five-day window, 1st to 5th November, ending the day Term III closes.
KCSE 2027 runs from 8th to 26th November, three weeks as before, but it starts six days later than the 2nd November start in 2026. It begins the Monday after Term III closes, so the examination follows the end of the term directly.
Longer half-terms
The 2026 half-terms were each five days. The 2027 half-terms are much longer and fall earlier in the term:
- First half-term: 19th to 28th February 2027 (9 days for primary, 10 for secondary), against 25th February to 1st March in 2026.
- Second half-term: 9th to 20th June 2027 (11 days for primary, 12 for secondary), against 24th to 28th June in 2026.
Parents and teachers should note that the primary and junior table gives lower day counts than the secondary table for the same dates. The circular does not explain the difference.
A shorter December holiday
The December holiday drops from ten weeks in 2026 to eight weeks. It begins on 8th November 2027 for primary and junior schools and on 6th November for secondary schools, and it runs until 3rd January 2028.
The shorter break is a consequence of the longer Term III and the later examinations. The secondary table lists the holiday as starting on 6th November, which overlaps with the KCSE dates of 8th to 26th November.
That presumably means the holiday applies to learners not sitting the exam, but the circular doesn’t say.
Reshuffled term lengths
The 2027 terms also differ in length from 2026, and the August holiday is longer:
| 2026 | 2027 (primary/junior) | 2027 (secondary) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term I | 13 weeks | 14 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Term II | 14 weeks | 13 weeks | 13 weeks |
| Term III | 9 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
| August holiday | 3 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| December holiday | 10 weeks | 8 weeks | 8 weeks |
Term II is a week shorter, opening on 3rd May instead of 27th April. The August holiday grows to four weeks, and Term III starts on 30th August, six days later than in 2026.
Adding up the three terms, primary and junior learners get 37 teaching weeks in 2027 against 36 in 2026, and secondary learners stay at 36.
Teachers’ training colleges
Diploma Teachers Training Colleges see smaller changes in dates but a change in how terms are labelled.
The 2026 calendar runs Term I, Term II, Term III. The 2027 calendar begins the year with Term II (5th January to 2nd April) and then runs Term III (26th April to 30th July) and Term I (23rd August to 12th November).
The year also starts a day later than in 2026 (5th January against 6th January) and finishes later. The final term closes on 12th November, six days after the 6th November close in 2026, and the December holiday is still eight weeks, running 15th November to 8th January 2028.
The first two terms keep the same length as in 2026, but the August holiday starts two days earlier, on 2nd August, and ends on 20th August.
What parents and schools should plan for
The practical effects are clear. School calendars, fee schedules and transport arrangements will need adjusting for the longer half-terms and the later year-end.
Families with children in both primary and secondary school should expect their holidays to start on different dates, particularly in April and in November.
One item from last year’s circular does not appear in the 2027 pages provided here. The 2026 circular repeated an earlier ban on activities and visits to secondary schools in the third term.
Schools should check the full 2027 circular, or ask their county or sub-county education office, to see whether that restriction still applies.