Pune schools shift online, plan Saturday classes after rain closures

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 03:48 PM IST

As incessant rain continued to batter Pune on Tuesday, several private schools have switched to online teaching to make up for classes lost. (Express Photo)

Some schools in Pune shifted to online classes Tuesday, while others opted to hold classes on Saturday to make up for lost teaching days after rain-related closures disrupted their schedule. Schools across Pune city remained shut on Monday and Tuesday following orders from the district administration in view of heavy rain and alerts issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi has announced holidays for schools in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations, apart from seven talukas, on Tuesday.

As incessant rain continued to batter Pune on Tuesday, several private schools have put in place measures to make up for classes lost due to the rain-induced holidays.

In a notice to parents, the Bishop’s School, Undri, said, “To ensure continuity of learning, virtual classes will be conducted via the Microsoft Teams platform.” The school also announced that the unit tests scheduled for July 7 have been postponed and will be held once regular classes resume. The notice further said that regular offline classes are expected to begin on Wednesday, June 8, subject to further directions from the district authorities.

St Mary’s School has announced that students in classes 5 to 12 would have to attend online classes from 8.15 am to 11.30 am on July 7. Meanwhile, students in classes 1 to 5 would be given worksheets to complete at home.

Damini Joshi, principal of Sanskriti School, said the school has not scheduled any online classes and would instead make up for the lost teaching days by holding classes on a non-working Saturday.

The Kalyani School is also holding online classes on July 7. Nirmal Wadden, the school’s principal, however, said that the school had not planned to compensate for the missed class on a Saturday, as such working days typically witness low turnout.

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Jnana Prabodhini School, meanwhile, has declared a complete holiday for students. The teachers have been asked to complete at least five hours of online training courses on the Union Ministry of Education’s Diksha platform. Principal Milind Naik said the school does not plan to hold compensatory classes as the classes begin earlier than most other schools and it observes fewer holidays during an academic year.

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Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting.

Professional Background

Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune.

Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics.

Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure.

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories:

1. Investigations & Governance

"Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents.

"44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families.

2. Education & Campus Life

Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University.

"Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial.

"Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers.

3. Human Rights & Social Issues

"Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India.

"'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying.

Signature Style

Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty.

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