Punjab tops NITI school education index, minister cites NEET gains

Punjab is a big state in India, and it takes care of teaching millions of children in its schools.

A group called NITI Aayog checks how well each state teaches its kids, and this time Punjab came first.

The person in charge of schools in Punjab, Harjot Singh Bains, shared this good news with the state assembly.

He said that in 2022 a lot of schools were in bad shape — some had no walls, some had broken toilets, and many kids had to sit on the floor.

The government has planned a very large amount of money, about 3,638 crore rupees in total, to fix the schools.

A programme called Mission Samarth groups children by what they already know instead of just their grade, which helps them learn better.

Punjab also became the first Indian state to teach artificial intelligence to students in every class, from Class I to Class XII.

More students from government schools are now passing the big medical test called NEET — the number went from 80 to 882.

Some people say fewer children are joining government schools, but the minister says this is happening in many other states too, not just Punjab.