Thousands of students returned to school on Sunday after the 15-day midterm break.
According to the Ministry of Education, the second session of the academic year has begun in all schools across the country.
The second term will continue until 6 March, which coincides with the Holy month of Ramadan.
The 2024 academic year commenced in May with over 96,000 students. According to the Ministry, 162 out of the 217 government schools will be single-session schools, while 55 schools will be operated in dual sessions. Additionally, six schools will implement satellite teaching.
The 2025 academic year is scheduled to commence on April 6, with teachers starting their preparation works from April 3 onwards. The first term holidays are from July 28 to August 7, with the second term set to start on August 10.
However, students will be having a midterm break during the second term, from September 21-25. With this, the second term concludes on December 25 and the year-end holidays will officially begin on December 28. The annual holiday will last till January 22, and the academic year for 2026 is slated to commence on January 27.
The academic-year end holidays were shifted to June/July, in 2021, following a one-year and six-month delay of the 2020 academic year prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, as this period coincides with the rainy monsoon, public concerns were raised as there were significant challenges for families to travel and enjoy their holidays. The decision to shift the year-end holidays was taken against 70 percent backing the move in a public poll.
During the presidential elections campaign, citizens requested President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to address this issue, and change the academic calendar, as to how it was before. After the president assumed office, he made the decision to gradually move the commencement date of the new academic year back to the beginning of the year.
This policy shift will take full effect starting in 2026.