Punjab Government Schools/2022–2026

Punjab moved from 22nd position to number one in the National Achievement Survey 2024.

Punjab moved from 22nd position to No. 1 in the National Achievement Survey 2024.

Four years. A complete transformation of government schools.

₹19,279 Cr Education budget, 2026-27 Up 52% from ₹12,657 Cr
14,500+ New teachers recruited Filling years of vacancy
3.64 lakh Students back in government schools They had left for private schools
1,300+ NEET and JEE qualifiers, 2026 From fewer than 80 in 2022

Punjab against every other state

Twenty-one places, in four years.

Four national instruments assess school education in India. Punjab placed first in each.

#1 National Achievement Survey 2024 NAS 2024
#1 PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024–25
#1 NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026
Prachesta-1 Performance Grading Index 2.0 PGI 2.0
  • National Achievement Survey 2024 First, from 22nd Kerala, Gujarat and Haryana all placed below
  • Score against the national average 18% above Most states at or below the national average
  • Performance Grading Index 2.0 Prachesta-1 Most states graded Akanshi or Utkarsh tiers
  • NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026 First Surpassed Kerala, the long-standing leader
  • Movement between private and government schools 3.64 lakh students in Most states continue to lose students to private schools
  • Education budget growth +52% in five years Unmatched among comparable states
  • NEET qualifiers from government schools 80 → 1,300+ Close to zero in comparable states
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

NEET and JEE

From a handful to a wave.

Students from Punjab government schools clearing NEET, JEE Main or JEE Advanced. Every dot is one of them.

2022 · 80 students
2026 · 1,300+ students

NEET qualifiers, year by year

437 2024
847 2025
882 2026
2,166 NEET qualifiers Cumulative across three years
786 JEE qualifiers Cumulative across three years
437 → 882 NEET qualifiers per year Doubled in two years
300+ JEE Main qualifiers In 2026 alone
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

How it was done

Six changes, built one on the next.

Fix the building. Then the staffing. Then what is taught. Then who gets to walk in.

  1. 01 School infrastructure 13,920 toilets · 2 lakh desks · every school walled
  2. 02 Teacher quality Singapore · Finland · IIM Ahmedabad
  3. 03 Curriculum 2.3 lakh students · 32,044 ventures · ₹29 Cr seed funding
  4. 04 Schools of Eminence 60 fully operational · 4 career tracks
  5. 05 Parental participation 23 lakh parents at the fourth Mega PTM
  6. 06 NEET and JEE preparation 1,300+ qualifiers in 2026
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

What changed inside the school

The building came first.

Walls, desks, toilets, water. Nothing else works until these do.

Classrooms

From the floor to a desk.

Nearly four lakh children in Punjab’s government schools had nowhere to sit.

Then · 2022 3.95 lakh

Students seated on the floor

Now · 2026 2 lakh+

Desks supplied. Nobody on the floor.

Safety

A wall around every school.

Eight thousand schools had no boundary at all.

Then · 2022 8,000+

Schools left unsecured

Now · 2026 20,000

Every school walled and secured

1,378Security guards appointed
Every schoolCampus manager in place
TransportSchool buses running

Dignity

13,920 toilets built.

For thousands of girls, a working toilet decides whether they stay in school.

Then · 2022 5,000+

Schools without a working toilet

Now · 2026 13,920

New toilets built across Punjab

Basics

Safe water in every school.

Then · 2022 450+

Schools without safe drinking water

Now · 2026 Every school

Safe drinking water, statewide

9,000New classrooms
8,268Interactive flat panels
FebruaryTextbooks now reach schools by
₹2,300 CrInvested in school buildings
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

Teachers

More teachers. Better prepared. More time to teach.

  1. Where it started Empty desks Years of vacancy at the front of the class
  2. Recruitment 14,500+ New teachers recruited
  3. Training Singapore, Finland & IIM Ahmedabad Global and national teacher training
  4. Back in class 0 hrs Non-teaching duties lifted, classroom time protected

Trained outside Punjab

  • Singapore Principals School leadership
  • Finland Primary teachers Classroom practice
  • IIM Ahmedabad Headmasters School management
12,000+ Staff regularised and support staff hired Converting insecure posts into permanent employment
5,000+ Teachers trained on new programmes Including Business Blasters mentoring
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

What is taught

Learning beyond textbooks.

Four additions to a Punjab government classroom. Taught, not announced.

  1. Entrepreneurship with real capital

    Business Blasters

    2.3 lakhStudents reached in three years32,044Teams launching real ventures₹29 CrSeed funding to student teams₹3 CrReturned in profit

  2. Prevention inside the classroom

    Anti-drug education

    Early gradesCurriculum coverage beginsCounsellorsPlaced in government schoolsParentsAnd community outreach

  3. Closing the confidence gap

    Spoken English

    SpeakingDedicated sessions in classEnglish labsIn government schools

  4. AI from Class 1, and a route to work

    Technology and vocational education

    Class 1–12AI as a main subject40Hunar Sikhia vocational schoolsIndustryInternships and career pathways
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

Schools of Eminence

One aspirational school in every halka.

A halka is an Assembly constituency — the area a Punjab MLA represents.

60 fully operational

58 more planned

118 Schools planned, one per halka
60 Fully operational As of 2026
4 Career tracks: MBBS, IIT, Law and MBA

Facilities

  • Interactive flat panels and high-speed Wi-Fi
  • Computer laboratories
  • Science and language laboratories
  • Digital and physical libraries

Academics

  • Free NEET and JEE coaching in school hours under PACE
  • IIT Innovation Labs
  • Career counselling from Class 9
  • Mentoring by senior IAS and IPS officers

Why it matters

  • Families once pushed into private schools or coaching centres now have a public option
  • These schools drive the state’s NEET and JEE results
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

Parents

Parents became partners.

Four Mega PTMs have been held since 2022, each with detailed report cards and direct feedback between parent and teacher.

23 lakh

Parents at the fourth Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting

The largest such exercise in Punjab’s educational history

Each mark is about 5,000 parents

School Management Committees

  • Empowered in every school, with a parent vote on school decisions
  • Streamlined admissions and direct intervention on dropouts

Transparency

  • Real-time attendance alerts to parents
  • Parents notified when a teacher is on leave
  • Monitoring of teaching hours

Welfare

  • 15,500 girl students on free bus transport
  • Security guards and campus managers in place
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

Free NEET and JEE coaching

Opportunity moved inside the school.

Under PACE, entrance coaching is delivered free, in school hours — no coaching centre, no fees.

  • Free coaching in school hoursDelivered inside the timetable, at no cost to the family
  • Online and offline supportLive and recorded teaching, with doubt-solving outside class
  • Study material and mock testsFull preparation material and regular assessment
  • IIT Innovation LabsHands-on facilities inside the Schools of Eminence
  • MentorshipIncluding senior IAS and IPS officers
  • Career counsellingFrom Class 9 onward
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

What changed?

2022, one change at a time.

01 / 07

National ranking

Then · 2022 22nd In national school assessment
Now · 2026 No. 1 First in the country

02 / 07

Where children sat

Then · 2022 3.95 lakh Students seated on the floor
Now · 2026 A desk for every child 2 lakh+ desks supplied

03 / 07

School boundaries

Then · 2022 8,000+ Schools with no wall around them
Now · 2026 20,000 Every school secured

04 / 07

Education budget

Then · 2022 ₹12,657 Cr 2021-22
Now · 2026 ₹19,279 Cr 2026-27, up 52%

05 / 07

NEET and JEE

Then · 2022 80 Qualifiers from government schools
Now · 2026 1,300+ Qualifiers in 2026

06 / 07

Where families went

Then · 2022 Leaving Students moving to private schools
Now · 2026 3.64 lakh Students came back

07 / 07

Aspirational schools

Then · 2022 None No Schools of Eminence
Now · 2026 118 One per halka, 60 operational

All of it, together

Four years on one screen.

National ranking 22nd No. 1
Where children sat 3.95 lakh A desk for every child
School boundaries 8,000+ 20,000
Education budget ₹12,657 Cr ₹19,279 Cr
NEET and JEE 80 1,300+
Where families went Leaving 3.64 lakh
Aspirational schools None 118
Source

Punjab Government / Department of School Education — team-provided data.

The schools families once left behind became the schools they chose to return to.