Chandigarh, August 4: Punjab’s Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains revealed on Monday that a cheating gang from Haryana used modified mobile phones, hidden wireless earpieces, and other high-tech devices to facilitate cheating during the pharmacy exam at Baba Farid University of Health Sciences.
During a discussion on a censure motion regarding repeated paper leaks and the oppression of protesting students, Bains stated that Punjab has now become the number one state in the country for school education.
Addressing the incident at Baba Farid University, he clarified, “This was not a paper leak. It was a major cheating operation facilitated by technology, which the Punjab police have now apprehended. For years, the Haryana government ignored this gang while it jeopardized the futures of thousands of students.”
He advised Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to focus on his state’s issues before engaging in politics against Punjab.
Bains highlighted Punjab’s rich tradition of education, referencing everything from the hymns of the Rigveda to the world’s first university, Takshashila. He stated, “From the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Arjan Dev, Punjab has always been a land of education, promoting equality and knowledge. Shaheed Bhagat Singh taught us to question authority.”
He noted that notable figures like Dr. Har Gobind Khorana, who won a Nobel Prize, and Dr. Narendra Singh Kapani, who pioneered fiber optics, hail from this land of greatness. “This is Punjab. This is our heritage. This is our pride. We will not allow anyone to tarnish its image or misrepresent it.”
Under the ‘Sikhya Kranti’ initiative, Bains mentioned that Punjab’s government schools achieved record academic results this year. He informed the assembly that 882 students from Punjab’s government schools passed the NEET UG 2026 exam, marking a more than 100% increase from the 437 students who succeeded in 2024.
He also highlighted that Punjab has risen to become the number one state in the National School Education Quality Report 2026, climbing from 27th place in 2020 and surpassing Kerala.
Furthermore, he announced that Punjab is the first state in the country to introduce Artificial Intelligence as a core subject from grades 1 to 12. This initiative will involve 25,172 schools and approximately 3.15 million students, with the curriculum developed after studying the best education systems in Singapore, Finland, the UAE, and the USA.
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