School Diwali holidays 2026: no single date for Maharashtra; 5 to 18 November in Pune and Sangli, 5 to 24 November in Latur; district-by-district list

When your children’s Diwali break starts this year depends on the district you live in. We could not find a single state-level circular fixing the dates; each zilla parishad’s education officer has issued a separate schedule. The ‘2 to 14 November statewide’ dates being shared widely were Pune district’s, and Pune has since changed them. Secondary schools in Pune district now close from Thursday, 5 November to Wednesday, 18 November.

Diwali holidays by district (according to the circulars)

• Pune (secondary, higher secondary and sainik schools): Thursday, 5 November to Wednesday, 18 November (14 days). A corrigendum dated 8 October replaced the earlier 2 to 14 November plan.
• Sangli (secondary and higher secondary schools, junior colleges): 5 to 18 November. The district moved its earlier 2 to 14 November dates on 12 October after a letter from the headmasters’ association.
• Latur (primary, secondary and higher secondary schools of every management and medium): 5 to 24 November (20 days); classes resume on 25 November.
• Nanded and Parbhani (all managements and mediums): Thursday, 5 November to Monday, 23 November (19 days). Tuesday, 24 November is the Guru Nanak Jayanti holiday, so schools reopen on Wednesday, 25 November.
• Jalna (zilla parishad and private primary and secondary schools): 2 to 21 November; the 22nd is a Sunday, so schools reopen on Monday, 23 November.
• Beed (zilla parishad and private primary and secondary schools, junior colleges): 2 to 21 November; schools reopen on 23 November.
• Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (zilla parishad and private primary and secondary schools): 2 to 19 November; schools reopen on 20 November.
• Buldhana (secondary and higher secondary schools): 6 to 14 November; the second term begins on Monday, 16 November.

Where did ‘2 to 14 November across the state’ come from?

On 18 May 2026 the office of the Education Officer (Secondary) of the Pune Zilla Parishad sent the district’s recognised secondary schools their holiday plan for 2026-27. It set the first term from 15 June to 31 October, the Diwali break from 2 to 14 November and the second term from 16 November to 1 May 2027. Over the past two days those same details were published in many places as applying to schools across the state. The letter was in fact for Pune district alone, and a corrigendum dated 8 October, signed by Education Officer Dr Bhausaheb Karekar, moved its Diwali dates.

What parents should do

• Go by the date your child’s school gives you in writing, and book travel home only once you have it.
• The Pune, Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar circulars allow schools that give holidays for Ganeshotsav, Christmas or other local festivals to shorten the Diwali break with the approval of the education officer or the school management committee. Two schools in the same district may therefore have different dates.
• The Pune circular repeats the Secondary School Code rule that all holidays in the year together must not exceed 76 days and that schools must work at least 230 days.
• We have not been able to see circulars for Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur and the other districts; parents there should check with the school directly. Schools affiliated to other boards, such as CBSE or ICSE, may have issued their own schedules.

Sources: Zilla parishad Diwali holiday circulars (copies on the Shikshan Mitra website); Pune Zilla Parishad, holiday schedule 2026-27 (PDF); News18 Lokmat; Dainik Prabhat