Schools begin 10-day break for Durga Puja

Educational institutions across Bangladesh are beginning their Durga Puja holidays, with secondary and lower-secondary pupils enjoying a continuous 10-day recess, while college students and teachers may benefit from a break stretching to 16 days once weekly holidays are included.

According to the 2026 holiday calendar for government and private secondary and lower-secondary schools, the Durga Puja vacation runs from October 18 to 22. When combined with weekly holidays on October 16-17 and October 23-24, as well as the Lakshmi Puja holiday on October 25, the schedule yields an uninterrupted recess from October 16 to 25. Meanwhile, colleges will remain closed from October 18 to 29, as stipulated in the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education’s calendar, which encompasses Durga Puja, Bijoya Dashami, Prabarana Purnima and Lakshmi Puja. Furthermore, weekly holidays on October 16-17 and October 30-31 would extend the college break to 16 days.

Madrasas, however, will observe a different timetable. Government and private institutions, including those receiving monthly payment order (MPO) benefits and ebtedayee madrasas, are scheduled to close from October 20 to 22, a three-day recess specified in the Directorate of Madrasa Education’s calendar. Government employees, for their part, will receive a five-day respite from October 20 to 24, comprising holidays for Maha Navami on October 20 and Bijoya Dashami on October 21, an additional holiday declared by executive order for October 22, and the weekly holidays on October 23 and 24.

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Universities, by contrast, will not adhere to a uniform schedule for the festival. Instead, each institution will determine its own closure dates in accordance with its academic calendar and administrative decisions. Consequently, the length of the Durga Puja break may differ considerably from one university to another across the country.