Chandigarh, August 19: Growing public confidence in Punjab’s state-run education system has led to 3.64 lakh students transferring from private institutions to government schools over the past four and a half years.
Presenting a status report at Punjab Bhawan on Tuesday, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains declared that state-led interventions under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann helped Punjab secure the top position in classroom learning outcomes in the NITI Aayog Report 2026–27, moving ahead of Kerala.
Minister Harjot Singh Bains affirmed that the administration prioritized fixing school facilities right after securing public support in 2022. He recalled that the previous system was heavily compromised, with thousands of schools missing basic sanitation, sitting arrangements, drinking water, and timely learning materials.
Under the ₹2,300 crore infrastructure initiative, the administration constructed 13,920 functional toilets, distributed 2 lakh desks, and built more than 9,000 classrooms and labs across the state. Every government school has been provided with Wi-Fi access, while interactive panels and advanced computer labs were added to thousands of premises. Specialized athletic facilities, including boxing rings, tennis courts, and swimming pools, were also introduced.
The Education Minister maintained that educator exposure programs in Singapore, Finland, and IIM Ahmedabad contributed directly to improved student performance. Over the four-year period, 2,166 students cracked NEET and 786 qualified for JEE, with NEET-UG qualifiers rising from 80 in 2021 to 882 in 2026.
Security and maintenance were strengthened through the deployment of ex-Army personnel as campus managers and the provision of regular maintenance grants. Additional measures include introducing Artificial Intelligence from Class I, launching the Business Blasters program, offering free daily bus transport to over 15,000 students, establishing 40 skill centers for former dropouts, capping annual fee hikes at 5 percent, and restoring flood-damaged schools in coordination with the World Bank.
