Punjab has emerged as the top-performing state in the NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026, overtaking Kerala in school education performance. Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains announced the development on August 7 during a discussion in the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
He highlighted the education reforms and infrastructure improvements undertaken in the state since 2022, including upgrades to government schools, foundational learning programmes and competitive exam preparation.
When Education Minister Harjot Singh took charge in July 2022, a state survey found more than 8,000 schools without boundary walls, around 3,200 schools with non-functional toilets, and nearly 4 lakh students without adequate classroom seating.
The state has since improved its textbook distribution system. Textbooks now reach district headquarters by February 15 and are distributed to schools by March 31, ahead of the new academic session.
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The Minister said he has visited more than 2,000 government schools, including those in border areas, zero-line villages and remote locations, to assess challenges on the ground.
Punjab’s Mission Samarth focuses on improving students’ reading, writing and mathematical abilities by grouping them according to their learning levels rather than simply their class.
The programme currently covers nearly 12 lakh students and involves more than 70,000 teachers annually.
Punjab has also introduced Artificial Intelligence as a core subject from Class 1 to Class 12, becoming the first state in India to introduce AI across all school grades as a core subject.
The Punjab Academic Coaching for Excellence (PACE) initiative has helped improve competitive examination outcomes among government school students. NEET qualifiers from Punjab government schools increased from 80 in 2021 to 882 in 2026.
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Punjab’s rise to the top of the 2026 school education index reflects the state’s focus on infrastructure, foundational learning, technology education and competitive exam preparation, marking a significant shift in India’s school education landscape.
