New Delhi, June 1 -- The Punjab government on Monday said the state has achieved the top position in NITI Aayog's Education Quality Report 2026, marking a significant improvement from its previous rankings in school education indicators.

In a statement, the government said Punjab had ranked 22nd in 2016-17, 26th in 2018-19 and 27th in 2020 before rising to the first position in the latest report. The government linked the improvement to reforms introduced after the Aam Aadmi Party assumed office in 2022.

According to the statement, Punjab outperformed several major states, including Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi, across a range of school education parameters assessed by NITI Aayog.

The government cited learning outcome data from the re...