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Academic year start dates
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education announced that the 2026/2027 school year will begin on Sunday, September 6, 2026, as Gaza Strip students face “widespread destruction of schools and educational facilities during the war.”
“the 2026/2027 academic year will start on Sunday, September 6th.”
In a separate report, Wafa said the same ministry announced that the 2026/2027 school year will begin on Sunday, September 6, 2026, and listed locations including Jerusalem, al-Khalil, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza, Jenin, Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilia, Tulkarem, and Tubas.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education announcement was framed as coming “at a time when Gaza Strip students face a catastrophic educational reality,” because the war prevents thousands of students from returning to classrooms normally.
The same report described the educational process in the West Bank as facing “increasing challenges due to barriers, closures, and repeated incursions carried out by the occupation forces,” alongside “settler attacks” that hinder students and teachers from reaching schools in several governorates.
War’s impact on schooling
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education announcement tied the start date to the “catastrophic educational reality” in the Gaza Strip, saying destruction of schools and educational facilities during the war “prevents thousands of students from returning to their classrooms normally.”
It also described the West Bank’s schooling challenges as including “barriers, closures, and repeated incursions carried out by the occupation forces,” plus “settler attacks” that hinder students and teachers from reaching schools in several governorates.
The report said the continuation of these conditions places the new academic year “before major challenges, especially in the Gaza Strip,” where “a large number of students are still deprived of a stable and safe educational environment.”
In the same framing, it said “the war’s repercussions on the educational sector continue,” linking the start date announcement to ongoing disruption rather than a return to normal operations.
Competing calendars and terms
Other coverage presented different academic calendars for the 2026-2027 school year, saying “classes begin on September 12, 2026” for students in public, official, and private schools and “September 6, 2026 for international school students.”
“classes begin on September 12, 2026”
That same calendar coverage stated the 2026-2027 academic year starts on Saturday, September 12, 2026, and runs until Thursday, June 24, 2027, totaling “39 instructional weeks.”
It also specified that the first term includes “93 days” of actual school days, while the second term comprises “90 days,” bringing the total number of school days in the academic year to “183 days.”
For exams, the calendar coverage said “Exams for the first term for regular classes start from January 9, 2027, to January 14, 2027,” and that the preparatory certificate exams are held from “January 16, 2027, to January 21, 2027.”
