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For UAE families just settling back into the post-Eid routine, the calendar has another welcome entry. The KHDA has confirmed that Monday, June 15, 2026 will be an official holiday for schools, universities and public and private early childhood centres across the country, marking Hijri New Year 1448. Normal educational operations will resume on Tuesday, June 16.

What has been announced

In a statement shared via its official channels, the KHDA confirmed the holiday in line with the announcement issued by the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources. The authority extended its wishes to students, educational staff and families, calling it a joyful and blessed occasion.

The school-sector holiday mirrors the wider announcement from the UAE's Federal Authority for Government Human Resources and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, which had earlier confirmed June 15 as an official holiday for federal government entities and private sector companies. In short, the day off applies across both work and education.

The legal basis

The holiday is not a one-off announcement but a scheduled entry on the country's approved public holiday calendar. It sits within the structured public holiday framework set out under UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 27 of 2024, which designates the Hijri New Year, observed on Muharram 1, as an official one-day public holiday across both government and private sector entities.

The date is confirmed in line with the approved list of official holidays for 2026 issued by the UAE Cabinet, which means schools, universities, ministries and private companies are all working from the same calendar.

When the Hijri New Year actually falls

The Islamic New Year, also known as the Hijri New Year, marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar. It falls on the first day of Muharram, the opening month of the Hijri calendar, and the exact start of a new Hijri month is determined by official moon-sighting observations on the 29th of every Hijri month.

In practical terms, that means:

On Sunday, June 15 (29 Dhul Hijjah), if the moon is sighted, the new month of Muharram will begin the following day, with June 16 falling as Muharram 1.

If the moon is not sighted on June 15, Dhul Hijjah will complete 30 days, and Muharram 1 will instead fall on Wednesday, June 17.

The public holiday itself, however, is fixed on Monday, June 15, regardless of the moon-sighting outcome, in line with the UAE's pre-published calendar.

A three or four-day weekend, depending on where you live

How the holiday actually feels depends on which emirate you are working in.

For most UAE residents on the standard Saturday and Sunday weekend, the Monday public holiday creates a three-day weekend, running from Saturday, June 13 to Monday, June 15, with a return to work and school on Tuesday, June 16.

For Sharjah residents on the emirate's four-day workweek, where Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the regular weekend, the holiday adds an extra day to an already long weekend, producing a four-day break from Friday, June 12 to Monday, June 15. Government employees and school students in Sharjah are the main beneficiaries of that longer stretch.

What it means for schools

The school-side picture is straightforward. KHDA has confirmed that schools, universities and public and private early childhood centres will all observe the holiday on Monday, June 15, with operations resuming on Tuesday, June 16. Children should be ready for a normal school day on the Tuesday, with no changes to bus routes, gate timings or scheduled assessments that fall in that week.

For schools running end-of-year assessments in the final stretch before the summer break, the day off effectively shifts a single school day out of an already shortened week. Parents whose children have term-end exams scheduled around June 16 should confirm any small calendar adjustments directly with the school, particularly if assessment timetables were drafted before the holiday confirmation.

What it means for families

For working parents, the most useful planning point is to treat June 15 as a confirmed family day rather than a possible bridge day. With the public sector, private sector and education sector all closed, options are wider than on a typical school holiday: a short staycation in another emirate, day trips inside the UAE, or simply a slow Monday at home before the final term-end push.

For families with children sitting end-of-year exams or board paper revisions, the holiday is also an opportunity to bank a calm study day without the usual school-day disruptions, if that is what the household needs. With the academic year wrapping up in early July, a structured study day on the public holiday can take pressure off the rest of the week.

The remaining 2026 holiday calendar

The Hijri New Year holiday is one of the last public holidays before the summer break and the long stretch into the second half of the calendar year. After June 15, the remaining official UAE public holidays for 2026 are the Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Rabi' Al Awwal 12), observed as a one-day holiday subject to lunar calendar confirmation, and the UAE National Day holidays on December 2 and 3, designated as a two-day national holiday period under federal law. Together, these complete the country's 2026 public holiday calendar, giving employers, schools and families a clear runway for operational and household planning through to the end of the year.

For now, though, the focus is the closer date on the calendar: a confirmed long weekend in mid-June, an extra rest day in the run-up to the summer holiday, and a quiet, marker-of-the-new-year break before the final stretch of the academic year.

Sources:

Gulf Business, "Long weekend ahead: UAE announces Hijri New Year holiday for schools, education sector" by Nida Sohail (June 4, 2026). https://gulfbusiness.com/en/2026/uae/long-weekend-ahead-uae-announces-hijri-new-year-holiday-for-schools-education-sector/ 

Khaleej Times, "Dubai announces public holiday for schools, universities for Hijri New Year" by Laraib Anwer (June 4, 2026). https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/education/dubai-announces-public-holiday-for-schools-universities-for-hijri-new-year