Public and private primary and secondary schools are heading towards beginning of the longest school holiday this week.
Already secondary schools closed earlier last week due to KCSE exams which started this week on Monday.
KCSE rehearsals happened on 18th November which was Friday last week. The exams are scheduled to start on 21st November and end on 23rd December.
Some primary schools are closing as early as today. This is to pave way for beginning of Grade 6 and Class 8 national exams.
During the examination period Knec has allowed only a number of people inside exam centres. The measured are aimed to curb exam malpractices.
Knec has authorized only the following persons to be in the examination centres during KPSEA, KCPE and KCSE exam periods.
1 Centre Manager;
2 Deputy Principal/Headteacher;- where an examination centre has more than one deputy then the centre manager shall designate one deputy to assist him/her;
3 Supervisor(s);
4 Invigilator(s);
5 Gatekeeper;
6 Laboratory technician and science teacher only during practicals;
7 Authorized support staff to prepare meals for candidates who will strictly restrict their movements to the Kitchen.
This year Grade 6 and Class 8 learners will have KPSEA and KCPE exams starting on 28th November and ending on 30th November 2022.
KPSEA and KCPE rehearsals will be this Friday 25th November 2022. Though Ministry of Education said schools should close on 25th November many schools are closing early due to the national exams.
The fate of KPSEA candidates in transition to junior secondary is still unknown. However KCPE candidates, according PS for Basic Education, will join Form One on 30th January 2023.
Around 1,268,830 Grade 6 learners will sit for KPSEA exams and 1,230,000 candidates for KCPE exams while Form 4 for KCSE are about 880,000.
Schools are closing for at least two months making this holiday the longest. Schools will reopen on 23rd January 2023 when the school calendar normalizes after disruption by Covid-19.
Below is the new school calendar that was released by Ministry of Education to guide schools next year.
A: PRE-PRIMARY, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS 2023 CALENDER
| OPENING | CLOSING | DURATION | |
| Term 1 | 23rd January 2023 | 21st April 2023 | 13 weeks |
| Half term break | 23rd March 2023 | 26th March 2023 | 3 days |
| Holiday | 22nd April 2023 | 7th May 2023 | 2 weeks |
| Term 2 | 8th May 2023 | 11th August 2023 | 13 weeks |
| Half Term Break | 29th June 2023 | 2nd July 2023 | 3 days |
| Holiday | 12th August 2023 | 27th August 2023 | 2 weeks |
| Term 3 | 28th August 2023 | 3rd November 2023 | 10 weeks |
| KCPE | 6th November 2023 | 9th November 2023 | 4 days |
| KCSE | 10th November 2023 | 1st December 2023 | 3 weeks |
B. TEACHERS TRAINING COLLEGES CALENDER FOR 2022 AND 2023 CONTINUING STUDENTS
(I) DIPLOMA IN TEACHER EDUCATION (SECONDARY)
(II) DIPLOMA IN PRIMARY TEACHER EDUCATION
A: PRE-PRIMARY, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS 2023 SCHOOL CALENDER
| OPENING | CLOSING | DURATION | |
| Term 1 | 29th August 2022 | 2nd December 2022 | 14 weeks |
| Term 2 | 23rd January 2023 | 21st April 2023 | 13 weeks |
| Holiday | 22nd April 2023 | 7th May 2023 | 2 weeks |
| Term 3 | 8th May 2023 | 11th August 2023 | 13 weeks |
| Holiday | 12th August 2023 | 1st September 2023 | 3 weeks |
| Term 1 | 4th September 2023 | 18th November 2023 | 12 weeks |
| Holiday | 19th November 2023 | 31st December 2023 | 6 weeks |
Ministry of Education also released a circular warning schools against conducting holiday tuition.