Punjab Education Minister flags BJP's 7-year-old school video as misleading
Synopsis
Punjab's Education Minister personally visited the school shown in a BJP-shared video — and found smart panels, wi-fi, and functional toilets where the footage showed decay. The video, it turned out, was seven years old. With Punjab topping PGI 2.0 and 882 government-school students clearing NEET 2026, Harjot Bains is turning a disinformation attack into a report card moment.
Key Takeaways
Education Minister Harjot Bains accused BJP of circulating a seven-year-old video of Jallah Government School, Fatehgarh Sahib as current footage on 20 August .
The video was shared on X by BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari and reposted by MP Harbhajan Singh .
Bains personally visited the school and found smart interactive panels, wi-fi, functional toilets , and a sanitary pad incinerator now in place.
Punjab ranked number one nationally in PGI 2.0 , NITI Aayog classroom outcomes, and PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 .
882 students from Punjab government schools cleared UG-NEET 2026 .
Punjab's Patiala district (ranked 23rd in the state) outscored Gurugram , Haryana's top district, in the NITI Aayog survey.
Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains on Thursday, 20 August accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of circulating a seven-year-old video of a government school as current footage, calling it a deliberate attempt to malign Punjab's education record. Bains said he personally visited the school in question to verify the claims on the ground.
The Video and the Ground Visit
The video, shared on X by BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari and later reposted by Member of Parliament Harbhajan Singh, purportedly showed the poor condition of a Punjab government school. Bains said that upon learning of the post, he visited Jallah Government School in Fatehgarh Sahib — the institution shown in the footage — and found the situation had changed completely.
The school now has smart interactive panels, functional toilets, a sanitary pad incinerator, clean drinking water, and wi-fi, according to Bains. 'Political criticism is part of public life, but deliberate attempts to malign Punjab and its schools will not be tolerated,' he said.
Punjab's Education Performance Record
Countering the BJP's narrative, Bains cited a series of independent national assessments. He said Punjab had topped the country in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 and that the NITI Aayog report released in May ranked Punjab number one in classroom learning outcomes. The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 also placed Punjab first in education nationally, he added.
Bains further noted that the Ministry of Education's Project Approval Board had repeatedly appreciated Punjab's progress in school infrastructure and learning outcomes. He said even Patiala, ranked 23rd within Punjab, had outscored Gurugram — the top-ranked district in BJP-ruled Haryana — in the NITI Aayog survey.
NEET Results and Competitive Exam Performance
On student outcomes, Bains said 882 students from Punjab government schools had cleared UG-NEET 2026 in national-level competitive examinations. He framed this as evidence of a broader transformation, invoking a shift from the 'Udta Punjab' narrative to what he described as 'Pardha Punjab'.
'Today, 882 students of government schools have cracked UG-NEET 2026. Punjab's performance in education is being acknowledged nationally,' he said.
The Political Context
The episode reflects an ongoing information battle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government and the BJP ahead of future electoral cycles. This is not the first time that old or decontextualised visuals have been flagged in Indian political discourse — the practice of recycling dated footage to frame current government performance has drawn repeated fact-checks across party lines. Bains was emphatic that criticism of him personally was acceptable, but that attempts to damage Punjab's reputation would not go unchallenged. 'The issue is not Harjot Bains. The issue is Punjab,' he said.
Point of View
Optics often outlast facts — a decontextualised clip shared by a national spokesperson and an MP carries far more reach than a ministerial rebuttal. What makes this case notable is that Bains chose ground verification over a press statement, which is harder to dismiss. But the deeper question is whether Punjab's genuine gains — PGI 2.0 topper, 882 NEET qualifiers — are reaching the same audiences as the viral video. In an attention economy, the correction rarely travels as far as the original claim.
NationPress
20 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What video did BJP leaders share about Punjab schools?
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared a video on X purporting to show the poor condition of a Punjab government school; it was later reposted by MP Harbhajan Singh. Education Minister Harjot Bains said the video was seven years old and did not reflect the school's current state.
Which school was shown in the video, and what did the minister find there?
The video showed Jallah Government School in Fatehgarh Sahib. When Bains visited the school, he found smart interactive panels, functional toilets, a sanitary pad incinerator, clean drinking water, and wi-fi — facilities not present in the old footage.
How has Punjab performed in national education rankings?
Punjab topped the country in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 and was ranked number one in classroom learning outcomes by the NITI Aayog report released in May. The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 also placed Punjab first nationally in education.
How many Punjab government school students cleared NEET 2026?
According to Bains, 882 students from Punjab government schools cleared UG-NEET 2026 in national-level competitive examinations, which he cited as evidence of improved learning outcomes.
How does Punjab compare to Haryana in the NITI Aayog education survey?
Bains said Patiala — ranked 23rd within Punjab — scored higher than Gurugram, the top-ranked district in BJP-ruled Haryana, in the NITI Aayog survey, underscoring Punjab's broad-based education gains.
