Chandigarh, May 11 -- Punjab has emerged as one of the country's best-performing states in school education, with the NITI Aayog Education Quality Report 2026 placing it ahead of Kerala on several key learning indicators, education minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Sunday. Bains said, "This honour belongs to every parent, student and teacher who refused to give up on government schools. This is not a one-day miracle. When policy, intent and execution walk together, results follow." Sharing details of the report, he said, "Punjab recorded 82% proficiency in language and 78% in mathematics in Class 3, surpassing Kerala's 75% and 70% respectively. In Class 9 mathematics, Punjab scored 52%, significantly higher than Kerala's 45%." Citing more findings, he added, "99.9% of government schools now have electricity, 99% have functional computers and over 80% are equipped with smart classrooms. Additionally, over 90% of Class 10 students now transition smoothly to Class 11, indicating a sharp decline in dropout rates. The student teacher ratio has also been improved to an ideal 22:1. Referring to the report's observations, the education minister said, "The NITI Aayog report specifically praisedPunjab for bridging the urban rural divide in education and ensuring equal opportunities for village students and girls. Punjab's adoption of global best practices has led to a sharp rise in competitive exam success among government school students. As many as 786 government school students have cleared JEE Main and 1,284 students have qualified for NEET so far."...