look news india
The month of October has brought relief and enthusiasm for school students and parents. With the beginning of the festive season, major national and religious festivals like Gandhi Jayanti, Durga Puja, Mahashtami, Mahanavami and Dussehra (Vijayadashami) are falling in this month. Education departments of many states have released the official holiday calendar, in which schools will remain closed on several days of the month including weekly holidays (Sunday) and second-fourth Saturday. Apart from this, in many private and government schools, students are also being given a short autumn break after the half-yearly examinations.
The details of the main holidays declared in schools at national and regional level during October are as follows:
| date | Day | occasion/festival | type of leave |
| 2 October | Friday | Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti | National holiday (all schools closed) |
| 4th October | sunday | weekly holiday | regular leave |
| 10 October | Saturday | second saturday | Most board and convent schools |
| 11 October | sunday | weekly holiday | regular leave |
| 18 October | sunday | Maha Saptami / Kati Bihu / Weekly Holiday | Regional and regular holidays |
| 19 October | monday | Mahashtami / Mahanavami / Durga Puja | Public holidays in many states |
| 20 October | Tuesday | Dussehra (Vijayadashami) | national and gazetted holidays |
| 21st October | Wednesday | Durga Visarjan/Extra Dussehra Holidays | West Bengal, Assam and selected states |
| 24 October | Saturday | fourth saturday | holidays in many schools |
| 25 October | sunday | weekly holiday | regular leave |
| 26 October | monday | Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti / Lakshmi Puja | Regional and restricted holidays |
| 29 October | Thursday | Karva Chauth (Karak Chaturthi) | Holidays in some states of North India |
The biggest attraction of this month is the festival of Dussehra and Durga Puja. Sunday is on 18th October, Mahashtami/Mahanavami is falling on 19th October and Vijayadashami is falling on 20th October. Due to this, students are getting long leave of 3 to 4 days continuously. In states like West Bengal, Tripura, Odisha and Assam, there is a provision for schools to remain closed for a week to 10 days on the occasion of Durga Puja festival. Whereas in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh of South India, a long festive break of about 10 to 13 days is given due to Bathukamma and Navratri.
The main holiday of Dussehra on October 20 will be compulsorily applicable in schools of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. October 19 (Mahanavami) is also declared a local holiday by many District Magistrates (DMs) and Basic Education Councils in view of local fairs and Ramlila events. Whereas private schools affiliated to CBSE and ICSE are likely to get a combined Dussehra break of 4 to 5 days from October 17 (Saturday) to October 21.
Different states and education boards (CBSE, ICSE and State Board) have different rules. Some states have only optional or restricted holidays on festivals like Karva Chauth or Valmiki Jayanti, in which all schools are not closed. Therefore, before planning any trip or considering any leave as fixed, please confirm the official diary, notice board or WhatsApp group circular issued by the concerned school management.