All primary and secondary schools across the country will close this week as the first term comes to a close.
The term started two weeks into January as the government strived to recover lost time during the COVID pandemic and in a move to normalize the calendar.
Learners will take a two-week break and resume on May 7. The second term will run for 14 weeks, starting from May 8 to August 11, with a half term break on June 29.
“This re-organization of school term dates came at a heavy cost to parents in terms of pressure to clear school fees within short intervals; teachers having heavy workloads, while learners have had to cover more content within extremely short time,” Ezekiel Machogu, the Education Cabinet Secretary, said.
“I wish to thank all the stakeholders, especially parents and teachers, for withstanding the financial and teaching pressures, respectively, that came with the shorter school terms as forced upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to all your concerted efforts, we will from January 2023 revert to our normal school calendar,” he added.
The first term also saw over 1.2 million learners transition to the Junior Secondary School as the Competency Base Curriculum (CBC) came into effect.
The August holiday will also last two weeks, from August 12 to 27. The third term will go for nine weeks until October 27.
Learners will take a 10-week break for the December holidays until January 8, 2024, as examination classes remain in school.
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and KPSEA are scheduled to start on October 30, followed by the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education from November 3 to 27.
Sam Oduor is the editor-in-chief at the Western Kenya Times who leverages the power of the Internet in telling stories that shape opinions.