This was captured in a circular issued by the Ministry of Education on Thursday, November 28.
The Ministry of Education has announced the 2025 school calendar covering pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools. For starters, schools across the country will reopen in the first week of January 2025 following the recent completion of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
This was captured in a circular issued by the Ministry of Education on Thursday, November 28. Here is a breakdown of the key dates in the calendar:
Term 1: Opens on January 6, 2025 and runs for 13 weeks, ending on April 4, 2025. A mid-term break is scheduled from February 26 to March 2, 2025, lasting five days.
April holiday: A three-week holiday will follow after the conclusion of Term 1, from April 7-25, 2025.
The full 2025 school calendar schedule. /MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Term 2: Commences on April 28, 2025 and spans 14 weeks, concluding on August 1, 2025. Students will enjoy a five-day half-term from June 25-29, 2025.
August holiday: Schools will close for three weeks, from August 4-22, 2025.
Term 3: Begins on August 25, 2025 and lasts for nine weeks, ending on October 24, 2025.
December holiday: The academic year will officially end on October 27, 2025 for most learners, ushering in a 10-week December holiday running until January 2, 2026.
National examination schedule
The 2025 calendar also highlights crucial dates for national examinations.
Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will run from October 27-30, 2025 while the Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) will commence on October 27 and end on October 31, 2025.
Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) & Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) will begin on October 27, 2025 and run through to November 6, 2025.
On the other hand, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) will start on November 3, 2025 and end on November 21, 2025.
The announcement comes after most students across the country completed their KCSE exams with the marking of the examination set to begin in the coming weeks.
The examinations which kicked off on October 24, were administered to 965,501 students with each learner sitting for at least 20 papers during the three-week period that ended on November 22.
While commenting on the exam malpractice by students during KCSE exams, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba revealed that 621 candidates from across 198 examinations were found engaging in examination malpractice cases. These include unauthorised written materials, mobile phones, collusion, sharing images of their question papers on social media, and impersonation.
In these cases, investigations are underway, with stern action expected to be taken on individuals found culpable of exam malpractice to ensure that they uphold the sanctity of examination.
A photo of students undertaking KCSE exams. /KENYA NEWS AGENCY
