Sahel EDU

The 2026-2027 school calendar in Cameroon: start of year, terms, breaks and exams

The 2026-2027 school year starts for Cameroonian students on Monday 7 September 2026 at 7:30 a.m. and ends on 30 July 2027. It is set by a joint order of MINEDUB and MINESEC signed on 14 August 2026, which applies to public and private schools and to both sub-systems. Here are the dates, their sources and how Sahel EDU enters them.

The 2026-2027 start of the school year: dates to remember

The calendar is the same for the francophone and anglophone sub-systems; only the exams differ. Lessons begin at 7:30 a.m. and breaks start at 3:30 p.m.

Administrative staff return: Monday 31 August 2026.
Teachers return: Wednesday 2 September 2026.
Students start: Monday 7 September 2026, at 7:30 a.m.
End of lessons for students not sitting exams: Friday 11 June 2027, at 3:30 p.m.
End of the school year: 30 July 2027.

The three terms and the Christmas and Easter breaks

The year has three terms. The first ends on 27 November, not at Christmas: the second term begins before the Christmas break and carries on after it.

1st term: from 7 September to 27 November 2026.
2nd term: from 30 November to 18 December 2026, then from 4 January to 5 March 2027.
Christmas break: from Friday 18 December 2026 (3:30 p.m.) to Monday 4 January 2027 (7:30 a.m.).
3rd term: from 8 to 25 March 2027, then from 12 April to 11 June 2027.
Easter break: from Thursday 25 March 2027 (3:30 p.m.) to Monday 12 April 2027 (7:30 a.m.).

Assessments, annual composition and exams

In secondary school, the text provides for at least two harmonised summative assessments per term, and schools still speak of sequences 1 to 6. The end-of-third-term composition is abolished: it is replaced by the annual composition, from 3 to 21 May 2027 in secondary school and from 27 May to 9 June 2027 in basic education, in the format of the official exams for exam classes.

The exact dates of each paper (CEP, BEPC, probatoire, baccalaureate, GCE) are published separately by the exam bodies: check their calendars. The following school year is already set to start on 6 September 2027.

Mock exams: 14 to 17 April 2027.
Practical PE tests for the official exams: 26 April to 7 May 2027.
Official secondary exams: from 19 April 2027, until 30 July.
Official basic education exams: from 10 May 2027, until 30 July.
Annual compositions: 3 to 21 May 2027 (secondary) and 27 May to 9 June 2027 (basic education).

Public holidays and moveable feasts: what can shift a day

Legal holidays include 1 January, 11 February (Youth Day), Good Friday, 1 May, Ascension, 20 May (National Day), 15 August, 25 December, the end of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr) and the feast of the Sheep (Eid al-Adha). When a holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday is a day off.

Muslim feasts depend on the moon: their date is announced every year by the authorities, and an extra public holiday can be declared at the last minute. In 2027, Good Friday falls on 26 March, during the Easter break, and Ascension on 6 May.

How Sahel EDU enters the official calendar

The official MINEDUB and MINESEC calendar is entered in the platform’s console and then applied to schools; the terms follow that published official calendar. Only the 2026-2027 calendar has been entered: later years are entered in the console.

Sahel EDU does not replace reading the official text: in case of doubt, the order prevails, and exam dates remain those of the bodies that publish them.

Sequences, child periods of their term, in which teachers enter their marks.
A public holiday suspends the register: a day without lessons expects neither the register nor staff clock-in.
Moveable feasts are entered with a date marked “to be confirmed” until the official announcement.
The school can add its own dates and set its day of rest (Friday, Saturday…).
The school can keep its own calendar, for example that of a maahad with Hijri dates.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

When does the 2026-2027 school year start in Cameroon?

Students start on Monday 7 September 2026 at 7:30 a.m. Administrative staff return on 31 August and teachers on 2 September.

What are the dates of the three terms?

The 1st term runs from 7 September to 27 November 2026, the 2nd from 30 November 2026 to 5 March 2027 (with the Christmas break) and the 3rd from 8 March to 11 June 2027 (with the Easter break).

Is the calendar the same for francophone and anglophone schools?

Yes. The joint order applies to both sub-systems, public and private. Only the exams differ.

When does the 2026-2027 school year end?

Lessons stop on 11 June 2027 for students not sitting exams, and the school year ends on 30 July 2027.

Does Sahel EDU update the calendar by itself every year?

No. Only the 2026-2027 calendar has been entered; later years are entered in the platform’s console. A free trial of 30 days lets you judge the tool with no commitment.

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