Punjab: 305 Students From Government Schools Ace JEE Exam

Government school students in Punjab just proved that talent knows no income bracket. In a stunning achievement, 305 students from public schools qualified for JEE Main 2026, India's highly competitive engineering entrance exam.

The numbers tell a powerful story. Last year, 187 government school students qualified. This year, that number jumped to 305, a 63% increase that Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains calls "a defining moment for the state's school education system."

Behind these statistics are real stories of determination. Bhavishya from Amritsar scored in the 98th percentile while his father repairs mobile phones and his mother works as a tailor. Dilkhush Jha from Bathinda achieved a 95th percentile score despite his family earning just Rs 1.2 lakh annually, relying entirely on self-study and school support.

Priyanka Sharma from Sangrur managed a 96th percentile while simultaneously preparing for medical entrance exams. These students didn't just pass an exam. They broke through barriers that might have seemed impossible.

The state credits its "Punjab Sikhya Kranti" initiative for transforming public education. The program focuses on dedicated teacher training and student support systems that give kids from modest backgrounds the same shot at success as their private school peers.

Why This Inspires

Punjab isn't stopping here. The government announced a special three-week residential training camp to help these 305 students prepare for JEE Advanced, the next level of testing. They're ensuring that qualifying is just the beginning, not the end.

Minister Bains noted that no other state government has matched this scale of achievement in public schools. Five students from his own constituency in Sri Anandpur Sahib were among the successful candidates, showing that progress is spreading across the region.

These results matter far beyond test scores. They demonstrate what happens when governments invest in teachers, support students regardless of their family income, and refuse to accept that zip codes determine destinies. When a mobile repair shop owner's son can score in the top 2% nationally, that's not just individual success. That's systemic change.

Three hundred and five families are celebrating today, and thousands more are seeing proof that their dreams for their children aren't foolish.