Punjab Outlook Investigative Analysis: With the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections less than six months away, a fresh political controversy has erupted over the Punjab government’s decision to paint 3,602 government schools in blue and yellow, colours that Opposition parties have alleged resemble the colours associated with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
According to an October 1 order issued by the Director General of School Education (DGSE), Punjab, the colour-coding and whitewashing work will be carried out under the government’s “Converting Govt Schools into Smart Schools” scheme. The department has sanctioned ₹80.45 crore for the exercise. The order specifies shades described as “egg custard” and “enamel rhapsody” for the exterior portions of school buildings, including verandahs and corridors.
The scale of the latest exercise is significant. It covers 1,895 primary schools, 764 high schools, 532 senior secondary schools and 411 middle schools. Amritsar has the highest number of schools included, with 334, followed by Patiala with 326, Ludhiana with 261, Gurdaspur with 240, Hoshiarpur with 236 and Jalandhar with 231. The programme also covers schools in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Bathinda and Ropar, among other districts.
The controversy, however, is not simply about painting school buildings. It is about timing, symbolism and the use of public institutions in an increasingly politicised environment. The latest decision comes after a similar controversy in December 2025, when 852 government schools were included in an earlier colour-coding exercise involving blue and yellow. Opposition parties had then questioned why these particular colours were being selected for government institutions.
The government has rejected the political interpretation. DGSE Aravind Kumar MK has confirmed that the October 1 order was issued by his office. During the earlier controversy, the DGSE maintained that there was nothing political behind the colour selection, describing the work as routine renovation and whitewashing.
That explanation may be administratively reasonable, but it does not automatically remove the political question. In a state preparing for another high-stakes Assembly election, governments must recognise that public perception matters almost as much as administrative intention. If a colour scheme associated in public discourse with a ruling political party is repeatedly introduced across government institutions, the government should expect questions about whether political branding is being allowed to enter public spaces.
The larger issue is therefore not whether blue and yellow are inherently political colours. They obviously are not. The question is whether government schools should have a standard, politically neutral identity that remains independent of whichever party happens to be in power.
Government schools belong to the people of Punjab, not to any political party. They are attended by children whose families support different political parties, different ideologies and different social organisations. Their buildings should ideally represent education, equality and public service, rather than becoming part of a political branding debate.
There is also an important question concerning the ₹80.45 crore expenditure. Renovation and maintenance of government schools are unquestionably legitimate priorities. Clean buildings, safe classrooms, proper sanitation, functional toilets, electricity, drinking water, laboratories, libraries and sports facilities can directly improve the educational environment. The government has previously argued that better infrastructure can improve students’ learning experience.
But whenever hundreds of crores are committed to school infrastructure, the public has a right to ask whether the money is being spent in the most educationally productive manner. The government should therefore publish clear district-wise details of the expenditure, the number of schools, the per-school allocation, the contractors or implementing agencies, the specifications and the completion timelines.
Transparency could actually help the government put the political controversy to rest.
If the colours have genuinely been selected only for architectural or maintenance reasons, the Education Department should explain who selected the shades, what technical or educational criteria were used, whether alternative colour schemes were considered and whether the same standard will continue after the 2027 elections.
That last question is particularly important. A politically neutral government school should not change its appearance every time a different political party comes to power. Punjab has already witnessed controversies in which governments have been accused of attaching their political identity to public schemes, buildings, advertisements and programmes. Such practices can create an unhealthy culture in which public institutions become associated with the governments of the day rather than the State itself.
The timing makes the latest decision even more sensitive. With the Assembly election approaching, every large government expenditure and every highly visible government initiative will inevitably be viewed through a political lens. The government may insist that there is no electoral motive, while the Opposition may see the decision as another example of AAP branding. The truth can ultimately be established only through transparent documentation and objective procurement and design processes.
Punjab urgently needs to move the debate beyond paint and political colours. The real test of the government’s school policy should be whether children are receiving better education, whether teacher vacancies are being filled, whether classrooms are properly equipped, whether government schools are producing better learning outcomes and whether rural and economically weaker students are receiving genuinely equal opportunities.
A freshly painted building can certainly create a better environment. But a blue-and-yellow wall cannot by itself make a school “smart.” A smart school requires qualified teachers, modern teaching facilities, technology, laboratories, libraries, sports infrastructure, clean drinking water, functional sanitation and measurable improvement in educational outcomes.
As Punjab approaches the 2027 election, the government would do well to ensure that its public schools remain institutions of education rather than symbols of political identity. If the ₹80.45-crore project delivers genuine infrastructure improvement, students and parents will benefit. But if the exercise becomes another political argument over colours, the children—the very people for whom these schools exist could once again disappear from the centre of the debate.
The question Punjab should ultimately ask is simple: Are we painting schools for politics, or are we building schools for Punjab’s future?