Kuwait’s Ministry of Education announced on June 15, 2026, that the commencement of Grade 12 final examinations will depend on the official declaration of the Islamic New Year holiday. This decision followed a meeting chaired by Minister of Education Engineer Sayed Jalal Al-Tabtabai with ministry leaders. The meeting reviewed exam preparations, incorporated field observations from schools and considered feedback from students and parents on holiday scheduling. The aim is to provide students with sufficient revision time.
According to the ministry, if the holiday is set for Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the exams will start on Wednesday, June 17, as initially scheduled. Science stream students will complete their examinations on June 28 in this scenario. Arts stream and religious education students will finish on June 29.
The ministry added that if the holiday is declared for both Wednesday, June 17, and Thursday, June 18, the exams will begin on Sunday, June 21. The sequence of exam subjects will remain unchanged, with Tuesday retained as a break day for students. Science students would then finish on July 1, arts and religious education students on July 2, and results would be announced on July 3.
Revised examination schedules for the chosen scenario will be published on the ministry’s official website and social media accounts once the holiday is confirmed, the ministry said. Arrangements for the marking process, grade reviews, approvals and result announcements have been completed. The ministry stated that these arrangements will ensure university admissions and scholarship procedures can proceed without delay.
The Islamic New Year holiday dates are determined by official moon sighting in Kuwait, a practice that introduces variability into the Gregorian calendar each year. This has led the Ministry of Education to adopt flexible scheduling for major exams in recent cycles. The current announcement continues the approach of aligning academic activities with the lunar calendar observances.
School-based feedback played a key role in the discussions held during the meeting led by Al-Tabtabai. Observations from the field helped shape the conditional plan for the Grade 12 tests. The ministry has prepared all administrative elements to support the process under either timeline.
