As the festive season winds down and families begin to say their goodbyes after weeks of travel and reunions, a familiar routine is about to return across the country. From next week, millions of Kenyan learners will be heading back to classrooms, officially ushering in the 2026 academic year.
The Ministry of Education’s calendar shows that schools will reopen on January 5, 2026, bringing to an end the long December holiday that stretched nearly two months. The reopening applies to all levels of learning from pre-primary and primary to junior secondary, senior secondary and institutions of higher learning.
For many households, the shift from holiday mode to school routine has already begun. In markets and shopping centres, parents can be seen hunting for uniforms, exercise books and school shoes, trying to stretch their budgets after the heavy spending of December. For some, it is a relief to return to structure; for others, it is another financial mountain to climb.
According to the academic calendar, the first term will run for 13 weeks, with schools closing on April 2, 2026, before resuming for the second term on April 27 after a three-week April break. Learners and teachers will also get a short breather during a half-term holiday from February 25 to March 1, 2026, a move the ministry says is meant to ease pressure during the busy term.
This year’s reopening carries extra weight, as it marks another key stage in the rollout of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. The first group of learners who sat the new-style exams will be joining Grade 10 in junior secondary school later in the month.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said a total of 1,130,459 candidates sat the exams, including 578,630 boys and 551,829 girls. These students are expected to report to their assigned junior secondary schools on January 12, 2026.
To ensure transparency and order in admissions, the ministry has directed that all Grade 10 enrollments in both public and private schools must be processed through the Kenya Education Management Information System (KEMIS).
“All schools, both private and public, must include Learner Grade 10 to KEMIS. No school principal will enroll a learner to KEMIS before a learner physically reports to the learning institution. The daily online reporting process will be monitored by KEMIS,” the ministry said in its guidelines.
As the school gates prepare to swing open once again, the mood across the country is a mix of nervous excitement and quiet determination. For learners, it is a fresh start. For parents, another season of sacrifice. And for the education system, the 2026 reopening represents another step in shaping a new generation under Kenya’s evolving curriculum.
