Jalandhar: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) govt in Punjab is celebrating the state’s performance in national school education surveys, years after its leaders had questioned similar rankings and called them “fake”.Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday cited Punjab’s performance in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2024, saying the state had risen to the top and left even Kerala behind, while attributing it to the AAP government’s focus on education.However, Punjab’s rise in school education rankings had begun before AAP came to power. In the Performance Grading Index (PGI), the state moved from 22nd position in 2017-18 to 13th in 2018-19, before reaching the top position in 2019-20. Punjab topped PG Index 2.0 for 2022-23 and 2023-24, while UT Chandigarh was pegged No. 1 in 2022-23 and 2023-24. When Punjab had earlier secured the top rank in NAS 2021, AAP leaders had dismissed the result. Then education minister Meet Hayer said the state had been given the top position on the basis of “fudged figures”.In June 2022, Mann also rejected the ranking on the floor of the Assembly. Responding during Question Hour, he said: “This is fake number one ranking. We will show how to make them real number one.”The contrast has returned to the political spotlight after Mann showcased Punjab’s latest NAS performance as part of the government’s “education revolution”.Opposition leaders, including Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former education minister Pargat Singh, on Monday accused the AAP government of taking credit for gains that had begun before it assumed office.They also said the government had not, in the past four years, produced any report or evidence to substantiate its earlier claim that the national survey rankings were manipulated.
