No Holiday on January 1 for Surat Municipal Schools This Year, Rath Yatra Leave Added Instead

Municipal schools across Surat will remain open on January 1, 2026, as the Municipal School Board (MSB) has removed the New Year’s Day holiday from this year’s calendar. The change, announced in the latest circular, brings the city’s school holiday schedule in line with the 2026 Gujarat government leave calendar, which no longer lists January 1 as a holiday.

In place of the dropped date, municipal schools will now observe a holiday on Rath Yatra (July 16). As per the updated schedule, 24 holidays have been announced across the academic year. Taking into account vacations and holiday breaks together, municipal schools will remain closed for 80 days in total.

The MSB has also introduced two separate leave lists based on religious and cultural requirements—

one exclusively for Urdu-medium schools, and

another common list for Gujarati, English, Hindi, Telugu, Odiya, and Marathi-medium schools.

Both lists include a mix of mandatory and optional holidays. While most dates adhere to the official state gazette, a few additional holidays have been incorporated to address regional and community-specific needs, ensuring inclusivity across different linguistic and religious groups.

The revised holiday structure marks a shift in how municipal schools balance uniformity with cultural diversity, offering flexibility while staying aligned with state guidelines.