Stakeholders and members of the public have been invited to have their say on the proposed 2026 school calendar released by South Africa’s education department. The department will consider the input of the public before the proposed school calendar is approved.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is calling on all stakeholders and members of the public to make submissions on the proposed 2026 school calendar. This public comment process must be completed before the DBE can gazette the 2026 school calendar.
 Members of the public can have their say on the proposed calendar. Once these submissions have been received by the department, the Minister of Basic Education will consider the input of the public and gazette the 2026 school calendar.
The proposed 2026 school calendar indicates that learners around the country will spend a total of 201 days in the classroom. The school year will begin on 14 January 2026 and conclude on 9 December 2026.
Learners will not attend school on five public/special school holidays in 2026. This is because some public holidays will be observed during the official school holidays.
Here Are The Proposed 2026 School Calendar Term Dates
Term 1 – 14 January 2026 to 27 March 2026
Term 2 – 8 April 2026 to 26 June 2026
Term 3 – 21 July 2026 to 2 October 2026
Term 4 – 13 October 2026 – 9 December 2026
Learners around the country will also follow the same school calendar during the 2026 school year.
Previously, the DBE used a staggered school calendar that saw learners in Coastal and Inland provinces start school on different dates.
However, the use of a staggered calendar will end after the 2023 school year and the DBE will begin using one school calendar for schools around the country from 2024 onwards.
