UAE announces 2026-27 academic calendar for schools following ministry curriculum

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has approved the official academic calendar for public and private schools following the ministry curriculum for the academic year 2026-2027.

According to the Ministry's official website, the academic year starts on Aug.31, 2026 (for students) and on Aug. 24, 2026 (for administrative and teaching staff).

The winter break, according to the MoE, starts on Dec. 14, 2026 (for students) and Dec.21, 2026 (for teaching and administrative staff), while the spring break starts on April 5, 2027 (for students and teaching staff), and the academic year ends on July 2, 2027 (for students) and on July 16, 2027 (for teaching staff).

The MoE also stated that the mid-term break for students in the first semester is between Oct.12-16, 2026, while the end-of-first-semester exams will be held between Nov.25-27, 2026.

Eid Al-Fitr holiday is between March 8-12, 2027, and Eid Al-Adha holiday is between May 15-18, 2027.

The Hijri New Year holiday is on June 6, 2027, MoE stated, adding that the end-of-third-semester exams will be held between June 21-30, 2027.

The summer break for teaching and administrative staff reportedly starts on July 19, 2027.

The Ministry also indicated that the number of weeks in the first semester is 13 weeks, totaling 67 days, and the number of weeks in the second semester is 12 weeks, totaling 60 days, while the number of weeks in the third semester is 58 weeks, totaling 58 days and the total number of school days is 185.