Abacus vs Kumon vs Conceptual Math: Which Is Right for Your Child?

Checklists & Calendar

Priya Nair
Education Calendar Editor, Algonova Malaysia

School holidays 2027 Malaysia run in four breaks set by the Ministry of Education (KPM): 5 or 6 March, 21 or 22 May, 27 or 28 August and 3 or 4 December. The year-end break is the longest, at 28 or 29 days. School opens on 4 January 2027 in every state. Group A (Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu) starts each break one day before Group B.
There are four breaks, and the dates differ by one day between the two state groups. This table comes from KPM's circular dated 2 October 2026, which covers government and government-aided schools. We read the PDF on moe.gov.my on 2 November 2026.
| Break | Group A | Group B | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 break | Fri 5 to Sat 13 March | Sat 6 to Sun 14 March | 9 days |
| Mid-year break | Fri 21 May to Sat 5 June | Sat 22 May to Sun 6 June | 16 days |
| Term 2 break | Fri 27 August to Sat 4 September | Sat 28 August to Sun 5 September | 9 days |
| Year-end break | Fri 3 to Fri 31 December | Sat 4 to Fri 31 December | 29 or 28 days |
Group A is Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. Group B is Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. The official source is Surat Siaran KPM Bil. 1 Tahun 2026, Kalendar Akademik Tahun 2027.

School opens on Monday 4 January 2027 for both groups. Group A schools close on Thursday 2 December and Group B schools on Friday 3 December 2027. The 2028 school year starts on Monday 3 January 2028 for everyone.
KPM counts 201 school days for Group A and 203 for Group B. The table shows how those days fall between the breaks.
| Stretch | Group A | Group B |
|---|---|---|
| Before the term 1 break | 4 Jan to 4 Mar: 39 days | 4 Jan to 5 Mar: 39 days |
| Between term 1 break and mid-year break | 14 Mar to 20 May: 43 days | 15 Mar to 21 May: 45 days |
| Between mid-year break and term 2 break | 6 Jun to 26 Aug: 57 days | 7 Jun to 27 Aug: 58 days |
| After the term 2 break | 5 Sep to 2 Dec: 62 days | 6 Sep to 3 Dec: 61 days |
| Total | 201 days | 203 days |
KPM does not give exam dates in this circular. SPM and UASA timetables come separately, so don't book a holiday around an exam date you heard in a parent chat.
KPM adds extra days around five festivals, and these days do not have to be made up with replacement classes. The circular says so itself. Dates here follow its Lampiran C.
| Festival | Extra days, Group A | Extra days, Group B |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese New Year, Sat 6 and Sun 7 February | Kedah: 9, 10, 11 Feb. Kelantan and Terengganu: 8 to 11 Feb | Fri 5 Feb and 9 to 12 Feb |
| Hari Raya Puasa, Wed 10 and Thu 11 March | Sun 14 March | None, it falls inside the break |
| Hari Raya Korban, Mon 17 May (and Tue 18 May in Kelantan and Terengganu) | Kedah: 16, 18, 19 May. Kelantan and Terengganu: 16 and 19 May | Tue 18 and Wed 19 May |
| Wesak, Thu 20 May | None | Fri 21 May |
| Deepavali, Thu 28 October (not Sarawak) | Wed 27 Oct | Wed 27 and Fri 29 Oct. Sarawak: Thu 28 Oct only |
Three more celebrations sit inside the breaks and need no extra days: Pesta Kaamatan on 30 and 31 May (Sabah and Labuan), Gawai Dayak on 1 and 2 June (Sarawak) and Christmas on Saturday 25 December.
Adding these up for Group B, the week of 17 to 21 May is off from Monday to Friday. That joins the mid-year break, so by our count Group B families get 21 days in a row, from 17 May to 6 June. Group B also gets Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 October off around Deepavali (Sarawak only Thursday 28 October).
Group B has 5 weekdays off in March, 10 in the mid-year break (15 with the extra days of 17 to 21 May), 5 in late August and 20 in December. Group A counts its own school week, so check your state if you live in Kedah, Kelantan or Terengganu.
| Break (Group B) | Weekdays off | A realistic plan |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 14 March | 5 | One short trip or family visit. Hari Raya Puasa is on 10 and 11 March, so book early |
| 17 May to 6 June | 15 | Three weeks: rest, one skill week, one reset week |
| 28 August to 5 September | 5 | Rest. Check uniforms, books and sleep times before 6 September |
| 4 to 31 December | 20 | Four weeks with one small goal each |
For Group B, split the 21 days from 17 May into three parts so that rest comes first and the school routine comes back before 7 June. This is our suggestion, not a KPM rule.
Children in Sabah and Labuan have Pesta Kaamatan on 30 and 31 May, and Sarawak families have Gawai on 1 and 2 June. Both fall at the end of the skill week or in the reset week, so keep those days light.
The year-end break gives Group B 20 weekdays from 6 to 31 December, and Group A starts one day earlier on 3 December. That is long enough to lose a skill or to build one, depending on what happens in the first week.
A simple rhythm works: one check on the first Monday, 15 minutes a day on a single weak area, and the same check again on the last day. We wrote a December maths plan by date for 2026 that follows exactly this pattern, and you can reuse the method for 2027. For children aged 8 to 12 who prefer screens to worksheets, our guide to an online holiday programme for kids compares the formats and costs. If you would rather keep a break offline, school holiday activities for kids lists ideas that need no class.
For younger children, school holiday maths activities for Year 1 and 2 turns 15 minutes a day into games.
Check the group, add the extra days, and only then buy tickets. Use this order:
Our page on school holidays 2026 Malaysia has the dates for the current year.
The first break of 2027 starts on Friday 5 March for Group A states and Saturday 6 March for Group B states. The year opens on 4 January and runs 39 school days before that break, according to the Ministry of Education's circular of 2 October 2026. Group A is Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, and Group B is every other state, including Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang and Sabah. The first break lasts 9 days and ends on 13 March for Group A and 14 March for Group B. Hari Raya Puasa falls on 10 and 11 March, inside that break. Group A also gets Sunday 14 March as an extra holiday, so its schools effectively reopen on 15 March, the same day as Group B.
The mid-year break runs from 21 May to 5 June 2027 for Group A and from 22 May to 6 June for Group B, which is 16 days either way. Schools reopen on 6 June for Group A and 7 June for Group B. Extra festive days make the real break longer. Group B has Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 May as extra days for Hari Raya Korban and Friday 21 May for Wesak, so its families are away from school from 17 May to 6 June, which is 21 days by our count. Sabah and Labuan add Pesta Kaamatan on 30 and 31 May, and Sarawak adds Gawai Dayak on 1 and 2 June. Both festivals fall inside the break, so they do not make it longer.
Group A is Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, and Group B is the other 13 states and federal territories. The practical difference in 2027 is one day. Every Group A break starts and ends one day before Group B, and the school year closes on 2 December for Group A and 3 December for Group B. Group A schools also receive different extra festive days. For Chinese New Year, Kedah gets three extra days and Kelantan and Terengganu get four, while Group B gets five. For Deepavali, Group A gets Wednesday 27 October and Group B gets Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 October, except Sarawak, which gets Thursday 28 October. Always check the table for your own state before booking anything.
The 2027 school year ends on Thursday 2 December for Group A states and on Friday 3 December for Group B states. The year-end holiday then runs from 3 December to 31 December for Group A (29 days) and from 4 December to 31 December for Group B (28 days). Christmas Day falls on Saturday 25 December inside that break. The next school year, 2028, opens on Monday 3 January 2028 for both groups, and the circular sets one opening date for all states. Exam timetables are announced separately and are not part of it, so check with the school before you plan a long trip.
KPM counts 201 school days for Group A and 203 for Group B in 2027. Group A has 39 days before the March break, 43 days up to the mid-year break, 57 days before the August break and 62 days to the end of the year. Group B has 39, 45, 58 and 61 days in the same four stretches. The two groups differ by two days over the year. The totals are KPM's own figures from the tables in the circular, not our calculation. For a rough weekly picture, 201 days is about 40 school weeks, and Group B's 203 days is a little over 40. Each stretch is counted in school days, so weekends and the extra festive days are not in the totals. Use the stretch table above if you want to see which part of the year is longest: the last stretch from September to December has 62 days for Group A and 61 for Group B, the most of any stretch.
No. The KPM circular states that the extra festive holidays do not need to be replaced. These are the days KPM adds around Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Hari Raya Korban, Wesak and Deepavali, on top of the public holidays themselves. Schools must follow the allocation for their group, so a Group B school should close on 5 February and 9 to 12 February for Chinese New Year, for example. Parents do not need to expect make-up lessons or extra Saturday classes for these days. If a school announces replacement classes anyway, ask the school office to show the circular, because the ministry's text is clear on this point.
Not automatically. The circular is titled the academic calendar for government and government-aided schools, so it binds national schools, SJKC, SJKT and government-aided religious or mission schools. Private schools and international schools publish their own calendars, so their term dates can differ from KPM's. If your child goes to one, ask the school for its calendar before you book travel. If your child attends a tuition or enrichment centre, ask whether it closes on KPM school holidays or runs holiday classes. Write down the dates your school confirms and compare them with the table in this article, so you spot any difference before you pay for tickets.
No. The KPM circular of 2 October 2026 gives the opening and closing dates, the four breaks and the extra festive holidays, but not exam timetables. SPM, UASA and other school exams are announced separately by the ministry, and individual schools publish their own internal test weeks. For that reason it is wise to treat any exam date in a parent chat group as unconfirmed until the school or the ministry publishes it. If you plan a trip in the weeks before a break, ask your child's class teacher whether a test or an assessment is scheduled in that window. Our guide to exam stress before UASA has tips for helping a child through that period.
A 9 day break is long enough for one short online class, and the best format is a live one. A live lesson with a teacher in a small group keeps the routine of a school day without the homework. Algonova offers a free coding master class of 60 minutes for children aged 8 and up, and a free maths diagnostic of about 60 minutes for ages 6 to 8, and both run online in groups of up to 10 children. The diagnostic ends with a written report. If a family prefers to stay screen free, a week of 15 minute daily reading or maths games is a fair alternative, and the online holiday guide on our blog compares both options.
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