Mauritius Revises School Exam Dates for Grades 4, 5 and NCE

The Mauritius Cabinet, meeting on Friday 17 October 2026, has officially approved revised examination dates for two key stages of the national education system: primary school Grades 4 and 5, and the National Certificate of Education (NCE), which is the main qualification sat by students at the end of lower secondary school.

Alongside the new exam timetable, the government confirmed that the end of term for all secondary schools will be extended by three days, with classes now closing on Thursday 5 November 2026.

For primary pupils in Grades 4 and 5, assessments will take place across three separate days. On Tuesday 20 October 2026, students will sit papers in French, followed by Oriental languages including Asian languages, Arabic, Kreol Morisien and Kreol Rodrige. The following day, Wednesday 21 October 2026, will cover English and then History and Geography. The final assessment day is Wednesday 28 October 2026, when pupils will sit Mathematics and Science.

On the secondary side, the NCE examination schedule has also been reorganised across three key dates, though the full revised timetable for those papers was not published in full by the time this article went to press.

The NCE is a nationally recognised qualification in Mauritius taken by students typically at the end of Form III, the third year of secondary school. Results determine streaming and subject choices for the upper secondary cycle leading to the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

The decision to revise these dates was formalised through Cabinet, meaning it carries full government authority and applies to both public and private institutions following the national curriculum set by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES), the body responsible for administering national assessments.

What this means for families: parents of Grade 4 and Grade 5 primary school children should update their calendars immediately, as assessments begin as early as 20 October 2026. Secondary school pupils and their families should note the later end-of-term date of 5 November and watch for the full NCE timetable to be released by the MES. Schools are expected to communicate the changes directly to parents in the coming days.

Source: ION News