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Punjab has a long history of education.
During the rule ofMaharaja Ranjit Singh, funding was given by the royal court to the schools affiliated to the various religious communities. Schools for girls were also opened in many places. Near the end of his rule in the 1830s, Ranjit Singh also started to encourage the learning ofEnglish, for which aChristian teacher was hired in a school inLahore.[1]
The firstprinting press in Punjab usingGurmukhi script was established inLudhiana in 1835 by a Christian mission. The firstPunjabi dictionary was published in 1854 by Reverend J. Newton.[2] Missionary schools were established in Jalandhar (1848), Ludhiana (1851) and Amritsar (1853). Following the example of the missionaries government soon started establishing primary schools in cities and large towns and the district officers opened and started maintaining schools with local funds in minor areas. The subjects taught in these schools included English,Geometry,Geography andPersian,Arabic andUrdu languages.[3] Starting from late 1877, Punjabi became one of the languages in which students could be examined atPunjab University.[4]
Khalsa College was founded in 1892 inAmritsar.[5] In 1962,Punjab Agricultural University was established in Ludhiana andPunjabi University inPatiala.[6][7] On November 24, 1969,Guru Nanak Dev University was established in Amritsar.[8]
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was started in 2000s by the government of India to provide free and compulsory education to the children from 6 to 14 years of age.[9]
In August 2024, Punjab government announced that it is planning to start a new project called "Schools of happiness". According to the sources, it aims to "create a nurturing and joyful learning environment in the schools by upgrading infrastructure, enhancing facilities, and integrating a holistic approach to education".[10][11]
The Indian government lays emphasis on the primary education up to the age of fourteen years, referred to as elementary education in India. It has been a fundamental right enlisted in the constitution of the country under Article 21-A up till the age of 14 years. The Indian government has banned child labour and guarantees free and compulsory education up to age 14 under Article 21-A and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.[12] Recentstate data replace the older national statistic above. As per theUnified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2024–25, Punjab has 27,281 recognised schools: 19,243 government schools (≈70.6%), 7,589 private unaided schools (≈27.8%), and 437 government-aided schools. UDISE+ also reports 26.69 lakh students enrolled in government schools and 30.63 lakh in private unaided schools for 2024–25, indicating a shift toward higher private-school enrolment in the state.[13]
However, due to a shortage of resources and lack of political will, this system suffers from massive gaps including high pupil to teacher ratios, shortage of infrastructure and poor levels of teacher training. Nationwide teacher numbers have changed substantially since 2011. According to UDISE+ 2024-25, the total number of teachers in India exceeded 1,01,22,420 in 2024-25, an increase from about 98.1 lakh the previous year.[14] At the state level, UDISE+ 2024-25 reports 2,73,130 teachers in Punjab (a marginal change from 2,73,092 in 2023-24) giving the state an overall pupil–teacher ratio of 22.[15] Education has also been made free[16] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under theRight of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.[17]
There have been several efforts to enhance quality made by the government. The District Education Revitalization Programme (DERP) was launched in 1994 with an aim to universalize primary education in India by reforming and vitalizing the existing primary education system.[18] 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states.[18] The DERP, which had opened 160000 new schools including 84000 alternative education schools delivering alternative education to approximately 3.5 million children, was also supported by UNICEF and other international programmes.[18]
This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment Ratio of 93–95% for the last three years in some states.[18] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme.[18] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is theSarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality remain low.
The table below shows the district levelteacher to pupil ratio from class 1 to 5 in Punjab, as of 2017.[19][20][21][22]
| District | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Hoshiarpur | 15 |
| Rupnagar | 16 |
| Fatehgarh Sahib | 16 |
| SAS Nagar | 17 |
| SBS Nagar | 18 |
| Gurdaspur | 18 |
| Pathankot | 19 |
| Kapurthala | 20 |
| Faridkot | 20 |
| Sri Muktsar Sahib | 20 |
| Jalandhar | 21 |
| Sangrur | 21 |
| Patiala | 22 |
| Ludhiana | 24 |
| Bathinda | 24 |
| Barnala | 26 |
| Fazilka | 27 |
| Amritsar | 30 |
| Ferozpur | 30 |
| Mansa | 30 |
| Moga | 31 |
| Taran taran | 46 |
The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness, science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such asYoga into the Indian secondary school system.[23] Secondary education covers children aged approximately 14 to 18. In Punjab, the 2024-25 UDISE+ state profile shows the following distribution of enrolled students by level (NEP-aligned): Foundational / primary 52%, Upper primary 22%, Secondary 13%, and Higher secondary 12.2%. These figures reflect the NEP 5+3+3+4 restructuring and should be used instead of the older 2001 Census-era totals for descriptive context.[24]
A significant feature of India's secondary school system is the emphasis on inclusion of the disadvantaged sections of the society. Professionals from established institutes are often called to support in vocational training. Another feature of India's secondary school system is its emphasis on profession based vocational training to help students attain skills for finding a vocation of his/her choosing.[25] A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of theRashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.[26]
A special Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education.[27] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[28] Another notable special programme, theKendriya Vidyalaya project, was started for the employees of the central government of India, who are distributed throughout the country. The government started theKendriya Vidyalaya project in 1965 to provide uniform education in institutions following the same syllabus at the same pace regardless of the location to which the employee's family has been transferred.[27]
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Punjab is served by many public institutes ofhigher education (listed below). All the major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law, medicine, veterinary science, and business courses are offered, leading to first degrees as well as postgraduate awards. Advanced research is conducted in all major areas of excellence. Punjab Agricultural University is one of the world's leading authorities in agriculture. It was instrumental and played vital role in Punjab'sGreen Revolution in the 1960s-70s.
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Many colleges of Punjab have been grantedautonomous status byUGC.
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As of 2015, there are more than 920MBBS and 1,070BDS seats across Punjab.[41]
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The table below shows theliteracy rate of urban and rural areas of Punjab, through the years.
| Year | Rural | Urban |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 71.40% | 83.20% |
| 2001 | 64.72% | 79.10% |
| 1991 | 52.77% | 72.08% |
| 1981 | 35.21% | 55.63% |
| 1971 | 27.81% | 52.49% |
| 1961 | 20.42% | 47.82% |
The table below shows the gender wise literacy rate of rural and urban areas of Punjab through the years.
| Year | Female (Rural) | Male (Rural) | Female (Urban) | Male (Urban) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 65.70% | 76.60% | 79.20% | 86.70% |
| 2001 | 57.75% | 71.05% | 74.49% | 83.05% |
| 1991 | 43.85% | 60.71% | 66.10% | 77.30% |
| 1981 | 27.63% | 41.91% | 49.70% | 60.70% |
| 1971 | 19.88% | 34.69% | 45.40% | 58.60% |
| 1961 | 11.51% | 28.12% | 37.70% | 56.09% |
A study of data from 1,520 households collected from 2008 to 2010 in Punjab showed that theirstandard of living andper capita income is positively correlated with education level at household and individual level. This implied that improvement in educational attainments reduces the chances of being poor.[44]
The table below shows the district levelteacher to pupil ratio from class 1 to 5 in Punjab, as of 2017.[19][20][21][22]
| Sr. No. | District | Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hoshiarpur | 15 |
| 2 | Rupnagar | 16 |
| 3 | Fatehgarh Sahib | 16 |
| 4 | SAS Nagar | 17 |
| 5 | SBS Nagar | 18 |
| 6 | Gurdaspur | 18 |
| 7 | Pathankot | 19 |
| 8 | Kapurthala | 20 |
| 9 | Faridkot | 20 |
| 10 | Sri Muktsar Sahib | 20 |
| 11 | Jalandhar | 21 |
| 12 | Sangrur | 21 |
| 13 | Patiala | 22 |
| 14 | Ludhiana | 24 |
| 15 | Bathinda | 24 |
| 16 | Barnala | 26 |
| 17 | Fazilka | 27 |
| 18 | Amritsar | 30 |
| 19 | Ferozpur | 30 |
| 20 | Mansa | 30 |
| 21 | Moga | 31 |
| 22 | Taran taran | 46 |
The table below shows the average population per school in each district of Punjab, as of 2011 census and the total number of schools, as of 2017. This includes government schools, affiliated schools, recognised and aided schools.[45] Note:- Pathankot and Fazilka were part of Gurdaspur and Ferozepur respectively, before 2011, so separate data for them regarding the average population per school is not available.
| Sr. No. | District | Average population per school (2011) | Total number of schools (2017) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SBS Nagar | 2,251 | 272 |
| 2 | Kapurthala | 2,433 | 335 |
| 3 | Fatehgarh Sahib | 2,480 | 242 |
| 4 | Gurdaspur | 2,582 | 637 |
| Pathankot | ---- | 193 | |
| 5 | Hoshiarpur | 2,584 | 614 |
| 6 | Moga | 2,613 | 381 |
| 7 | Faridkot | 2,616 | 236 |
| 8 | Rupnagar | 2,706 | 253 |
| 9 | Sangrur | 2,908 | 569 |
| 10 | Sri Muktsar Sahib | 2,918 | 309 |
| 11 | Mansa | 2,937 | 262 |
| 12 | Ferozpur | 3,023 | 419 |
| Fazilka | ---- | 252 | |
| 13 | Patiala | 3,251 | 583 |
| 14 | Barnala | 3,403 | 175 |
| 15 | Jalandhar | 3,476 | 631 |
| 16 | Bathinda | 3,533 | 393 |
| 17 | Amritsar | 3,722 | 669 |
| 18 | Ludhiana | 3,770 | 928 |
| 19 | SAS Nagar | 3,812 | 261 |
| 20 | Taran taran | 4,373 | 372 |
The table below shows the percentage of households withcomputer andinternet facility in Punjab from July 2017 to June 2018.
| Facility | Total | Rural | Urban |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | 16.2% | 9.4% | 26.7% |
| Internet | 46.4% | 39.4% | 57.1% |
The table below shows the percentage of people in Punjab above the age of 5 with the ability to operate computer and internet, from July 2017 to June 2018.
| Group | Computer | Internet |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 26.6% | 35.0% |
| Total (Female) | 22.5% | 28.4% |
| Total (Male) | 30.1% | 40.9% |
| Rural (Total) | 20.8% | 28.5% |
| Rural (Female) | 17.2% | 22.1% |
| Rural (Male) | 24.0% | 34.3% |
| Urban (Total) | 37.1% | 46.8% |
| Urban (Female) | 32.4% | 40.0% |
| Urban (Male) | 41.0% | 52.6% |
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| Administration | ||
| Culture |
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