Pune, 9th January 2026: Several schools across city will remain closed as their premises are being used for polling and vote counting for the upcoming municipal corporation elections. The civic administration has taken over many school buildings to set up polling booths and counting halls.
Schools have started informing parents about the closure. Many schools already have a holiday on January 14 for Makar Sankranti. Since voting will take place on January 15 and counting will be held on January 16, students in these schools will get three consecutive days off.
In addition, most schools are usually closed on Saturday and Sunday. This means in several cases students will effectively get a four-day break starting from January 14 due to a combination of festival holidays, election duty and the weekend.
Meanwhile, the State Election Commission has declared January 15 a public holiday in all areas where municipal corporation elections are being held. This holiday will apply to government and semi-government offices, public sector units, banks and central government offices within the civic limits.
The move is aimed at ensuring smooth conduct of voting and encouraging people to participate in the elections, as a large number of school buildings and staff will be engaged in polling and counting across 29 municipal corporations in the state.
