By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
The 2025/2026 academic year in Cameroon is set to begin on September 8, 2025, and will conclude on July 31, 2026. This announcement is contained in a joint order signed by the Ministers of Basic and Secondary Education on August 19. Prof. Serge Laurant Etoudi Ngoa represented the Minister of Basic Education, while Prof. Paul Nalova Lyonga signed on behalf of the Minister of Secondary Education.
According to the joint communiqué, teaching and learning activities will be conducted either face-to-face or through distance learning. The school year is divided into terms, with the first break scheduled from Friday, December 19, 2025, to Monday, January 5, 2026. The second break will take place from Thursday, April 2, to April 20, 2026. Boarding students will have their holidays end on the eve of the school reopening day by 6:00 PM.
Official and competitive examinations in the Basic Education sector are set for May 11 to July 31, 2026. In the Secondary Education sector, examinations will occur from May 13 to July 31, 2026. Specific examination dates will be announced through legal documents signed by the respective Ministers.
In Primary Education, teaching and learning activities will consist of a weekly workload of 30 hours, covering routine and introductory activities that promote children’s independence and responsibility. This corresponds to an annual total of 720 hours.
For Secondary Education, the school year will feature 36 weeks of instruction, with a maximum of 35 hours of classes per week, including extracurricular activities. This amounts to 420 hours per term and a total of 1,260 hours for the school year, with 210 hours dedicated to assessments and 1,050 hours for teaching and learning.
Classroom sizes will be capped at 30 pupils in Nursery, 60 students in Primary, and 50 in Secondary. Additionally, the school administration will organize pedagogical follow-up activities during the last two days before holidays.
Throughout the academic year, several special days will be celebrated, including International Literacy Day on September 8, World Teachers’ Day on October 5, and the National Day for the Promotion of Didactic Material made from Local and/or Recovered Materials. Other observances will include the National Week of Bilingualism, Youth Week, International Mother Language Day, Commonwealth Day, and World Environment Day.
The FENASCO games for League A and B will be held during the second term break. Holidays for teaching staff in Nursery, Primary, Secondary, and teacher training institutions will begin on Friday, July 31, 2026.
Examination fees will be collected starting from the beginning of the school year by headmasters for MINEDUB and by authorized operators as outlined in memoranda of understanding signed by MINESEC, following instruction No. 18/00000000951/DGTCFN/CLC issued on November 22, 2018.
This instruction ensures the proper handling of renewals collected and deposited via mobile phones and money transfer operators for schools and examination fees. Fees must be deposited in designated bank accounts by Tuesday, October 31, 2025, for MINEDUB and within 48 hours after collection for MINESEC.
