Punjab has witnessed a familiar pattern whenever a new political party comes to power: a new education model is announced, given a new name and projected as a major transformation. At different times, Punjab has seen Model Schools, Adarsh Schools, Meritorious Schools, Smart Schools and, more recently, Schools of Eminence. The political branding may change, but the fundamental question remains the same: what happens to the institutions that are already producing results?
The Meritorious Schools were established during the Shiromani Akali Dal government with a clear objective to provide talented students, particularly those from economically weaker families, with quality education and specialised preparation for competitive examinations such as NEET, JEE Main, JEE Advanced and CMA. The idea was to create an environment where deserving students from villages and cities could receive opportunities that might otherwise be available mainly to students who could afford expensive private coaching.
The programme began in 2014 with six schools, and another four were added in 2015, taking the total to ten. Students were selected on the basis of merit, while education, specialised coaching, hostel accommodation and food were provided free of cost. For many families, this was not merely another government-school programme; it was a pathway towards professional and higher education.
The vision behind these schools was undoubtedly ambitious. However, the biggest weakness of the system has been its human-resource structure. Instead of creating a stable cadre of permanent teachers, a large number of lecturers have continued to work on contractual arrangements. According to the figures provided, around 292 contractual school lecturers are currently serving in these institutions. Their selection reportedly involved a multi-stage process, yet many of them continue to face uncertainty about their long-term employment.
The situation has become particularly difficult for teachers recruited in the early years of the programme. Many of those appointed in 2014 have now become over-age for regular recruitment opportunities. The last recruitment of contractual teachers in these schools was reportedly conducted in 2021. These teachers have continued to hope that successive governments will regularise their services and provide them with a secure career.
Another striking feature is that the principals of these schools are permanent officials associated with the School Education Department, while the lecturers who actually teach and prepare students for highly competitive examinations have largely remained contractual. Such an arrangement raises an obvious question: how can an institution be expected to build long-term academic excellence when its teaching workforce itself lacks long-term security?
Despite these administrative shortcomings, the academic performance of the Meritorious Schools has been impressive. The figures provided for the period since the Aam Aadmi Party government came to power show continued student success.
During the 2022–23 session, 117 students qualified NEET, 111 qualified JEE Main and six qualified JEE Advanced.
In 2023–24, the reported figures were 243 NEET qualifiers, 118 JEE Main qualifiers and 85 CMA qualifiers.
In 2024–25, 211 students qualified NEET, 131 qualified JEE Main, 21 qualified JEE Advanced and 145 qualified CMA.
During 2025–26, the reported figures were 168 NEET qualifiers, 135 JEE Main qualifiers, 24 JEE Advanced qualifiers and 143 CMA qualifiers.
These numbers tell an important story. Regardless of which government takes credit for the results, the students and teachers working inside these institutions deserve recognition. The performance demonstrates that the original concept of providing talented students with free education, accommodation and specialised coaching can produce meaningful results when implemented properly.
The political irony is that governments often promote their own education models while paying comparatively less attention to successful programmes created by previous administrations. The Congress government introduced Smart Schools, while the present AAP government has promoted Schools of Eminence. But the existence of a new model should not mean neglecting an older institution that is already delivering results.
The issue of teacher regularisation also deserves serious attention. In 2018, the Congress government reportedly issued a notification concerning the absorption of teachers working under SSA, RMSA, Adarsh and Meritorious School schemes into the Education Department. The move brought approximately 8,886 teachers associated with Adarsh, RMSA and SSA schemes into the department, while Meritorious School teachers, according to the information provided, continue to wait for their own orders.
This is where the question of political consistency arises. If the government believes that these schools are important enough to celebrate when examination results are announced, then the teachers responsible for those results should also be treated as an integral part of the system.
Punjab now has 23 districts, yet the number of Meritorious Schools has remained stuck at around ten rather than expanding to provide comparable opportunities across the state. If the model has produced strong results, why should a talented student in one district have access to such an institution while a similarly talented student in another district does not?
Every district does not necessarily need an identical institution, but the principle of equitable access to quality education should be non-negotiable. A successful model should be expanded, improved and modernised—not abandoned simply because it was associated with a previous government.
The real test of Punjab’s education policy is therefore not how many new names, boards or buildings are announced. The real test is whether existing successful institutions are strengthened, whether teachers are given dignity and job security, whether talented students from economically weaker backgrounds receive equal opportunities, and whether successful models are expanded beyond political considerations.
The Meritorious Schools were created with a long-term vision. Their results suggest that the concept still has considerable value. What they now need is not another political slogan but stable teachers, adequate funding, modern infrastructure, transparent administration and expansion across Punjab.
Punjab should stop treating education as a competition between political brands. A school that works should be strengthened, regardless of which government created it. The future of Punjab’s children is too important to be sacrificed at the altar of political credit.
Disclaimer: This article and accompanying images are for informational and illustrative purposes only. Some visuals may be AI-generated or digitally enhanced and may not depict actual events or persons.Views expressed are based on publicly available information and analysis