CHANDIGARH; Recognising the exemplary mentorship and commitment towards fostering academic excellence in government schools, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, along with former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia, felicitated over 300 principals of government schools whose students qualified the JEE (Main), JEE (Advanced) and NEET-UG 2026 examinations under the Punjab Academic Coaching for Excellence (PACE) initiative.
Addressing the felicitation ceremony held at Mohali Club in SAS Nagar, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, “Punjab Government schools have recorded another year of remarkable success in national-level competitive examinations. 361 students qualified JEE (Main) 2026, registering a 35.2% increase over the previous year, while 64 students qualified JEE (Advanced), reflecting a 45.5% year-on-year increase,” he added.
The Education Minister noted, “882 students from Punjab Government schools qualified NEET-UG 2026, compared to 847 in 2025 and 437 in 2024, marking growth of over 100% in just two years. These achievements reflect the sustained impact of Punjab Sikhya Kranti and the strengthening of academic support in government schools.”
The Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains pointed out 10 students from government schools have secured admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 36 students to the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), and more than 90 students to government engineering colleges across the country. “These figures demonstrate that Punjab Government schools are now producing students capable of entering the country’s premier institutions,” he added.
The Education Minister affirmed, “Today, Punjab’s education model is being discussed across the nation. This is the result of our teachers’ hard work, dedication and commitment. In 2022, fewer than 80 students from government schools qualified these examinations. Today, 882 students from every district of Punjab have qualified NEET.”
Highlighting the pivotal role of school heads, Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, “For the last four years, I have maintained that everything rests with the principal. A good principal can transform a dilapidated building into a temple of learning. But without love for teaching, even the best policies will fail and that same school will be reduced to ruins.”
He further informed that the School Education Department organised four large-scale residential coaching camps in June 2026 at Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar and Mohali, benefiting 3,000 students through intensive academic sessions, doubt resolution, mock tests, mentoring and focused preparation for JEE and NEET.
Congratulating the principals, Harjot Singh Bains said, “I am confident that you and the entire school staff will continue to contribute to the Punjab Sikhya Kranti with the same passion, dedication and unwavering commitment, and make the state of Punjab proud.”
Addressing the gathering, former Delhi Deputy CM and AAP Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia said, “A building alone does not make a school. Government can construct buildings, but it is teachers who transform it into a place of learning and aspiration.”
He said Punjab Sikhya Kranti is focused on creating world-class infrastructure in government schools while simultaneously strengthening academic support through expert coaching, structured mentoring, continuous assessments and residential programmes, enabling students from government schools to compete with the best in JEE, NEET and other national-level examinations.
Manish Sisodia said, “For lakhs of students, the government school is no longer a compromise. It is now a gateway to IITs, NITs, medical colleges and a better future.”
The event was also attended by PDC Member Anurag Kundu, Director School Education (Secondary) S.S. Bal and other senior officials of the School Education Department.