Punjab Beats Kerala to Rank No. 1 in NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026

Punjab has claimed the top spot in the NITI Aayog School Education Quality Index 2026, overtaking Kerala. The announcement was made by Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on 7 August 2026, in the Punjab Legislative Assembly, during a discussion on an education-related resolution moved by MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra.

State of Punjab's School Infrastructure: 2022 vs. Present

Initial Survey Findings (July 2022)

Minister Harjot Singh Bains recalled that when he took charge in July 2022, an early survey found over 8,000 schools without boundary walls, around 3,200 schools with non-functional toilets, and nearly 4 lakh students sitting on classroom floors due to inadequate seating. Textbooks also routinely reached schools only in October or November, resulting in a significant loss of instructional time each academic session.

Structural Improvements & Field Groundwork

1. Minister Harjot Singh said the situation has since improved considerably. Textbooks now reach district headquarters by 15 February and are fully distributed by 31 March, well before the academic session begins. 
2. Minister Harjot Singh Bains also noted that he personally visited more than 2,000 government schools across the state, including those in border areas, zero-line villages and remote regions, to better understand ground-level needs.

Key Academic Initiatives Taken By Punjab

Mission Samarth (Foundational Literacy & Numeracy)

1. Under Mission Samarth, students are grouped by learning level rather than by class grade, allowing each child to progress in reading, writing and maths at their own pace.
2. Minister Harjot Singh Bains recalled finding Class 8 students in 2022 who could not write simple sentences or perform basic addition and subtraction; such students were taught from the Class 3 level and have since shown improvement. 
3. The programme now covers close to 12 lakh students and involves more than 70,000 teachers annually.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Curriculum Integration

Punjab has become the first state in the country to introduce Artificial Intelligence as a core subject from Class 1 to Class 12.

Competitive Exam Success: PACE Initiative

Through the Punjab Academic Coaching for Excellence (PACE) initiative, the number of NEET qualifiers from government schools rose sharply from 80 in 2021 to 882 in 2026.

Strategic & Educational Takeaways

The rise reflects the impact of foundational learning models like Mission Samarth and targeted coaching efforts like PACE on both classroom outcomes and competitive exam results. It also marks a notable shift in India's school education landscape, with Punjab moving ahead of Kerala, a state long regarded as a leader in education indicators.