Chandigarh, August 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Thursday accused BJP leaders of circulating a seven-year-old video of a government school in Fatehgarh Sahib as if it showed its current condition, saying the school had since undergone significant improvements under the Bhagwant Mann government.
Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, Bains said the video of Jallah Government School was shared on X by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari and subsequently reposted by MP Harbhajan Singh. He said he decided to visit the school personally to verify the claims.
“Right after a press conference, I went straight from Punjab Bhawan to the government school, Jallah in Fatehgarh Sahib, the school shown in the video, without informing the school authorities or the District Education Officer,” Bains said, adding that he wanted to establish the ground reality himself.
According to the minister, the video dates back to 2018 and does not reflect the school’s present condition. He said the school now has two smart interactive panels, two functional girls’ toilets, a sanitary pad incinerator, clean drinking water and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Bains said whitewashing work at the school had already been sanctioned and funds released, with the work scheduled to be completed after the monsoon.
Defending the broader record of Punjab’s government schools, Bains cited national assessments, saying Punjab had topped the country in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 and had been ranked first in classroom learning outcomes in a NITI Aayog report released in May.
He also referred to PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, claiming Punjab emerged as the country’s top-performing state in education. He said the Ministry of Education’s Project Approval Board had repeatedly appreciated the state’s work in school infrastructure and learning outcomes.
Bains further said 882 students from Punjab government schools had qualified in UG-NEET 2026.
“Punjab has moved from ‘Udta Punjab’ to ‘Pardha Punjab’,” he said, using the phrase to highlight what he described as the state’s progress in education.
Comparing Punjab’s district-level performance with Haryana, Bains said Patiala, ranked 23rd among Punjab’s districts, had scored higher in the cited assessment than Gurugram, which he described as Haryana’s top-ranked district.
He urged journalists to independently verify the underlying reports and figures before drawing conclusions about Punjab’s education system.
“Political criticism is part of public life, but deliberate attempts to malign Punjab and its schools will not be tolerated,” Bains said, adding that criticism of him personally was acceptable but attempts to discredit Punjab were not.
The minister acknowledged that not every government school was free of deficiencies. He said he had personally inspected more than 2,000 schools and that corrective action had been initiated wherever shortcomings were identified.
Punjab has around 20,000 government schools, he said, making infrastructure maintenance an ongoing exercise. Bains added that more than 7,000 schools had faced flooding during the past four years, creating additional challenges.
Around 500 flood-damaged schools requiring restoration have been identified, he said, adding that restoration work was being undertaken with funds being arranged, including support from the World Bank.
The government has set a target of eliminating all major infrastructure deficiencies from Punjab’s government schools within the next two years, Bains said.
Recalling earlier criticism over the government’s efforts to improve basic toilet facilities, particularly for girls, the minister said officials had interacted directly with students to understand the difficulties caused by inadequate facilities.
Bains said the government would continue addressing genuine deficiencies while urging the public and journalists to verify videos circulating on social media before sharing them.
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