Sessions and terms

SEMS follows the Nigerian academic calendar: an academic session (e.g. 2026/2027) made up of First Term, Second Term and Third Term. Attendance, continuous assessment, exams, report cards and fees are all recorded per term.

Create a session#

1. Go to Settings → Session year.
2. Click Add, type the session name (e.g. 2026/2027) and the start and end dates (typically September to July).
3. Tick Default so it becomes the current session, then Save.

Create the terms#

1. Go to Academic Management → Semester (SEMS uses "Semester" for terms).
2. Add three entries for the session: First Term, Second Term, Third Term, each with its start and end month.
3. Mark the term you are currently in as Current.

Three terms created for the session.

Why this matters: teachers can only enter CA and exam marks against the current term, and parents see fees and report cards grouped by term.

Moving to the next term#

At the end of a term:

1. Make sure results are published and report cards generated (see Results and report cards).
2. Under Academic Management → Semester, mark the next term as Current.
3. Fees for the new term become payable automatically if you set them per term under Manage Fee.

Starting a new session#

1. Create the new session under Settings → Session year and make it Default.
2. Create its three terms under Semester.
3. Promote students to their next classes: Academic Management → Students → Promote Students — choose the old class and arm, the new class and arm, tick any students who are repeating, and save.
4. Re-assign class teachers under Class Section & Teachers if they have changed.
5. Set the new session's fees under Institutional Finance → Fees → Manage Fee.

Historical records remain available: switch the session filter on any report to view a previous year.

Holidays#

Add public and school holidays under Timetable & Attendance → Holiday. Holidays are excluded from attendance counts and appear on the calendar in the parent portal and app.