Sri Lanka's Ministry of Education has announced staggered completion dates for the first phase of the third school term, with the second phase set to begin in early September across all schools.

The Ministry of Education has released the official schedule for the third school term of 2026, implementing a phased approach that accounts for different school calendars. The first phase concludes on Friday, August 7 for Sinhala and Tamil schools, while Muslim schools will complete their first phase on Wednesday, September 2.

Following these staggered end dates, the second phase of the third term will commence uniformly across all government and government-approved private schools on Monday, September 7. This second phase will run through Friday, December 4, marking the completion of the academic year.

Concurrently, the Ministry announced that the 2026 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination will take place between August 10 and September 5, overlapping with the end of the first phase and beginning of the second phase for most schools. The structured calendar allows students sitting for advanced level examinations to complete their assessments before the second term begins.