NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ministry of Education has dismissed as fake a notice circulating on social media claiming that the reopening of schools for the third term had been postponed to September 15, urging parents, learners and teachers to rely only on official government communication.
The State Department for Basic Education issued the clarification on Wednesday, August 19, just days before schools are scheduled to reopen for the final term of the 2026 academic year.
The department said the viral notice did not originate from the Ministry of Education and warned the public against acting on the information.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT: The post circulating on social media claiming that school opening has been postponed is FAKE,” the State Department said.
It added:
“Parents, guardians, learners, teachers and the public are urged to ignore it. Term 3 begins on August 24 2026 as earlier communicated.”
The ministry confirmed that the 2026 Term Three school calendar remains unchanged, with learners expected to report to their respective institutions from August 24.
The term will run for nine weeks and end on October 23, 2026, according to the official school calendar.
The clarification comes as families make final preparations for the new term, including school fees, transport, accommodation and other requirements.
The false notice had claimed that Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba had directed the postponement of reopening to September 15 for senior schools and all secondary schools.
The ministry said there had been no such change to the published calendar.
It urged members of the public to verify any information concerning school dates through official Ministry of Education channels before sharing or acting on it.
The final term will also lead directly into the 2026 national assessment and examination period.
The Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) is scheduled to begin on October 26 and run until October 29.
The Kenya Intermediate Level Education Assessment (KILEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) are also scheduled to begin on October 26.
The Kenya Pre-Vocational Level Education Assessment (KPLEA) will start on November 2.
For secondary schools, the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations will begin on November 2 and run until November 20, 2026.
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The examination period will be followed by the December holiday, with learners expected to begin an eight-week break.
The ministry’s warning comes amid the rapid spread of unverified information through social media, where official-looking notices can circulate widely before authorities have an opportunity to correct them.
Parents and learners have therefore been advised to confirm any purported changes to the school calendar directly with the Ministry of Education or their respective schools.
For now, August 24 remains the official reopening date for Term Three, and there is no ministry directive postponing the start of the term to September 15.
