School Holidays Extended: 9 states, UTs close education institutions due to cold wave until January 15

Educational institutions across several states and Union Territories in north and central India have extended the school holidays until January 15 as extreme cold wave conditions prevail. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has recorded severe cold in multiple regions, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh. As a result, state and local administrations have extended school holidays to ensure the health and safety of students.

The UP government has extended school holidays for students from Nursery to Class 8, while the Haryana government has ordered the closure of schools from Nursery to Class 5 until Jan 15.

Moreover, the authorities in UP’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district have issued an official order for school holidays extension for Classes 8 and above until January 15, as per a report by the Indian Express.

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School holidays for ICSE, CBSE, UP, others

“All educational institutions falling under the specified categories are required to strictly follow the directive and ensure necessary compliance,” as per the official notification.

The school holidays order applies to schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), UP Board, among several other recognised boards, the official statement reads.

On the other han, chief minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Singh Mann has also instructed its officials to announce school holidays in all government, aided, recognised, and private schools until January 13. The order has been passed in view of safeguarding the health and safety of children and staff, as per the official statement.

The educational institution authority in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh has directed all schools to begin sessions after 9:30 am for students from Nursery to Class 8, according to an official order.

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IMD issues yellow alert in 6 MP districts

The IMD has also declared a ‘yellow alert’ for cold wave conditions in parts of the state from January 13 to 16 for MP districts such as Garhwa, Palamu, Chatra, Latehar, Lohardaga, and Gumla.

Amid the dropping temperature, the Jammu and Kashmir government has also announced the school holidays, declaring closure of schools up to Class 8 until the end of February, 2026.

Classes above 8 will begin from February 22 as the temperature across Kashmir continues to fall several degrees below freezing, the Indian express reported.

The Telangana government has also extended the school holidays to January 16 after the IMD reported chill winds across the states.

Furthermore, the Jharkhand school education department has also declared school holidays for students up to Class 6 until January 14 due to cold weather conditions, as reported by the IMD.