UAE Announces New Academic Calendar, Mid-Term Breaks For Public, Private Schools

The UAE Ministry of Education on Wednesday, July 23, announced a new structure for the academic calendar starting from 2025–2026.

The new school calendar sets unified dates for the start of the academic year, end of the three terms and end of term breaks. The calendar applies to all public and private schools nationwide, the ministry said.

Khaleej Times has reached out to the ministry for further clarification.

The new structure has been approved by the Education, Human Development, and Community Development Council (EHCD).

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The start of the academic year will be from August 25 with the end of the academic year pencilled in for July 3, 2026.

The first term will end with an extended four-week winter break from December 8 to 4 January 2026, with schools resuming on January, 5 2026.

The second term runs from January 5, 2026 through March 15, 2026, followed by a spring break from March 16 to 29, 2026.

Schools resume on March 30, 2026, except for private schools in Sharjah, which return on March 23, 2026.

The third term starts on March 30, 2026 and ends on July 3, 2026, except in Sharjah, where it ends on July 2, 2026.

The Ministry has allowed private schools that do not follow the government's curriculum to schedule mid- term breaks in October and February, with each break not exceeding five consecutive days. These breaks must remain within the specified months and cannot be extended or shifted, ensuring alignment with the national calendar while accommodating schools' operational needs.

Mid-term breaks for public and private schools that implement government curriculum:

• Mid-term break (First term): October 13-19, 2025 (schools resume on October 20, 2025

• Mid-term break (Second term): February 11-15, 2026 (schools resume on February 16, 2026

• Mid-term break (Third term): May 25-31, 2026 (Schools resume on June 1, 2026)

The third break mentioned above aligns with the Eid Al Adha holiday.

The ministry said that all schools must follow the approved calendar, including holding final assessments or completing curriculum requirements in the last week of each term, to ensure students attend until the last school day.

This excludes grades taking pre-scheduled international exams. It also emphasised that private schools following the government's curriculum must adhere to the centralised test calendar used in public schools.

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