During the rule of Maharaja 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 of English, for which a Christian teacher was hired in a school in Lahore.[1]
The first printing press in Punjab using Gurmukhi script was established in Ludhiana in 1835 by a Christian mission. The first Punjabi 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 and Persian, Arabic and Urdu languages.[3] Starting from late 1877, Punjabi became one of the languages in which
students could be examined at Punjab University.[4]
A primary school book published under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Punjab
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]
Primary and secondary education
Senior School students in Punjab
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 also banned child labour in order to ensure that the children do not enter unsafe working conditions.[12] However, both free education and the ban on child labour are difficult to enforce due to economic disparity and social conditions.[12] 80% of all recognized schools at the elementary stage are government run or supported, making it the largest provider of education in the country.[13]
School workshop
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. Figures released by the Indian government in 2011 show that there were 5,816,673 elementary school teachers in India.[14] As of March 2012 there were 2,127,000 secondary school teachers in India.[15]
Education has also been made free[12] for children for 6 to 14 years of age or up to class VIII under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009.[16]
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.[17] 85% of the DERP was funded by the central government and the remaining 15 percent was funded by the states.[17] 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.[17]
This primary education scheme has also shown a high Gross Enrollment Ratio of 93–95% for the last three years in some states.[17] Significant improvement in staffing and enrollment of girls has also been made as a part of this scheme.[17] The current scheme for universalization of Education for All is the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is one of the largest education initiatives in the world. Enrollment has been enhanced, but the levels of quality remain low.
District-wise Teacher-Pupil Ratio of Class 1 to 5 in 2017 (As of 30 September)[18]
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
Secondary education
Classroom in Punjab
The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986, has provided for environment awareness, science and technology education, and introduction of traditional elements such as Yoga into the Indian secondary school system.[22] Secondary education covers children aged 14 to 18, 88.5 million children according to the Census, 2001.
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.[23] A significant new feature has been the extension of SSA to secondary education in the form of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.[24]
A special Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) programme was started in 1974 with a focus on primary education.[25] but which was converted into Inclusive Education at Secondary Stage[26] Another notable special programme, the Kendriya Vidyalaya project, was started for the employees of the central government of India, who are distributed throughout the country. The government started the Kendriya 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.[25]
Punjab is served by many public institutes of higher 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's Green Revolution in the 1960s-70s.
The table below shows the literacy rate of urban and rural areas of Punjab, through the years.
Literacy rate of urban and rural areas of Punjab through the years[41]
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.
Gender wise literacy rate of rural and urban areas of Punjab through the years[41]
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%
Effects
A study of data from 1,520 households collected from 2008 to 2010 in Punjab showed that their standard of living and per 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.[42]
District-wise Teacher-Pupil Ratio of Class 1 to 5 in 2017 (As of 30 September)[18]
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.[43] 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.
District-wise average price per school as of 2011 census and total number of schools as of 2017[43]
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 with computer and internet facility in Punjab from July 2017 to June 2018.
Percentage of households in Punjab with computer and internet facility in 2017-18[44]
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.
Percentage of people in Punjab above the age of 5 with the ability to operate computer and internet in 2017-18[45]
