Students at secondary and lower-secondary schools across Bangladesh are set to receive a nine-day break in October as the Durga Puja holiday coincides with the regular weekly holidays.
Under the revised holiday calendar for the 2026 academic year, schools will remain closed for Durga Puja from Sunday, 18 October, to Thursday, 22 October. The arrangement applies to government and non-government secondary and lower-secondary educational institutions across the country.
The official Puja holiday itself covers five days. However, students will be able to enjoy a considerably longer uninterrupted break because weekly holidays fall immediately before and after the festival period.
Friday, 16 October, and Saturday, 17 October, are scheduled as weekly holidays. As a result, students will finish their classes on Thursday, 15 October, before beginning the extended break.
The second part of the break will continue after the five-day Puja holiday. Friday, 23 October, and Saturday, 24 October, are also weekly holidays. Schools are therefore expected to reopen on Sunday, 25 October.
In practical terms, students will have no classes from Friday, 16 October, through Saturday, 24 October — nine consecutive days. The extended break is therefore the result of the combination of the five-day Durga Puja holiday and four weekly holiday days surrounding it.
The schedule means that the final working day before the break will be Thursday, 15 October. Students will then remain away from school for the following nine days before returning to their classrooms on Sunday, 25 October.
The sequence of the holiday period is:
- 15 October, Thursday: Last class day before the break.
- 16 October, Friday: Weekly holiday.
- 17 October, Saturday: Weekly holiday.
- 18 October, Sunday: Durga Puja holiday begins.
- 19 October, Monday: Durga Puja holiday.
- 20 October, Tuesday: Durga Puja holiday.
- 21 October, Wednesday: Durga Puja holiday.
- 22 October, Thursday: Final day of the scheduled Puja holiday.
- 23 October, Friday: Weekly holiday.
- 24 October, Saturday: Weekly holiday.
- 25 October, Sunday: Schools are scheduled to reopen.
Durga Puja is observed as a major religious festival in Bangladesh, and the annual academic calendar includes a designated period of leave for educational institutions during the celebrations. The revised 2026 calendar has retained the scheduled dates for the Puja holiday.
For families, the timing of the holiday creates a continuous break without requiring any additional change to the official five-day festival leave. The two weekly holidays before the festival and the two immediately afterwards effectively extend the period away from school.
Students will therefore have a nine-day uninterrupted break from academic activities, beginning on 16 October and continuing through 24 October. Regular classes are scheduled to resume on 25 October, when schools are expected to return to their normal academic routine.
