Chandigarh, December 27:
As 2025 concludes, Punjab’s government school education system stands radically transformed, having delivered tangible, transformative results that set a national benchmark for academic excellence. Under the leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, classrooms have been reimagined as crucibles where confidence, innovation and resilience are forged, reshaping the future of the state’s youth.
Punjab’s Education Minister, S. Harjot Singh Bains, highlighted this year’s landmark achievements, stating that the government’s resolve to empower students is matched by its commitment to holistic and future-ready education. “Our initiatives have driven a paradigm shift. Sustaining our top National Achievement Survey (NAS) rank proves improved learning outcomes at the grassroots are now our unwavering standard,” he said.
The most resounding testament to this transformation came from competitive exam results that broke all ceilings. A record 265 government school students cleared JEE Mains, 45 conquered JEE Advanced and 847 cleared NEET, proving these schools are now premier launchpads for the country’s top professional avenues.
Punjab carved a unique national identity by introducing “Entrepreneurship” as a main subject for Class XI in the 2025-26 academic session, igniting an entrepreneurial spirit. Student-led micro-enterprises began sprouting in schools, shifting mindsets from job-seeking to job creation, he added.
In a decisive move for student well-being, S. Bains said that a pioneering drug prevention curriculum was rolled out for Classes XI & XII in all government schools. Reaching over eight lakh students, it empowers them with peer leadership and psychological resilience, creating a student-led barrier against substance abuse and transforming schools into fortresses of well-being.
S. Bains said that the school education system saw a massive infusion of world-class teaching methods, with 234 Principals and Education Administrators trained in Singapore, 216 primary teachers trained at Finland’s University of Turku, and 199 Headmasters received training at IIM Ahmedabad. The revolutionary “School Mentorship Program” pairs students with top bureaucrats, making aspirational careers personal and achievable.
To ensure equitable career planning for all students, the Education Minister said, Punjab Government has recently launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to integrate artificial intelligence-driven career guidance into its public school system. Under the pilot phase, 25 AI-Enabled Career Guidance Labs have been inaugurated in Government and Punjab School Education Board (PSEB)-affiliated schools.
The “English Edge” program matured into an institution, transforming hesitant murmurs into the clear, confident discourse of 3 lakh students in Grades 9-12 across 500 schools, unlocking global gateways for young minds, he added.
S. Harjot Singh Bains further informed that 118 Govt Schools are being transformed into ‘Schools of Eminence’. Strengthening the human resource backbone, 12,316 qualified employees were regularised, 13,765 new teachers recruited, and 1,908 Campus Managers & 1,316 Security Guards hired for government schools.
