Education, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared on Monday, 10 August 2026, is a treasure that can never be stolen — and his government intends to keep it that way. Mann announced that a significant bill has been introduced in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to rein in arbitrary practices by private schools, promising relief to the parents of an estimated 32 lakh children across the state.

Posting in Punjabi, Mann framed the legislation as a direct strike against the commercialisation of schooling: 'ਅਸੀਂ ਸਿੱਖਿਆ ਨੂੰ ਮੁਨਾਫ਼ਾਖੋਰੀ ਦਾ ਸਾਧਨ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਣਨ ਦੇਵਾਂਗੇ' — 'We will not allow education to become a tool of profiteering.' The post laid out two concrete restrictions the bill would impose: no private school will be permitted to change its uniform for at least three years, and schools will be barred from compelling parents to buy supplies from any designated shop.

The uniform-and-vendor racket the bill targets

For years, parents in Punjab and across India have flagged a well-worn private school playbook: change the uniform every year or two, tie up with a specific vendor, and pocket a margin on every purchase. The practice forces families to spend thousands of rupees on items that become obsolete by design. Mann's bill, if passed and enforced, would legally sever both levers — the artificial churn of uniforms and the captive-vendor arrangement — that drive up the hidden cost of private schooling.

Multiple Indian states have moved against similar practices, but legislation has often stalled or been challenged in court by school management associations. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 established baseline norms for private school conduct, yet enforcement has remained patchy. Punjab's bill would add a state-level layer of accountability on top of that national framework.

882 NEET qualifiers and Punjab's number-one ranking

Mann paired the regulatory announcement with a claim about the state of public education itself: Punjab, he said, now ranks first in the country in education. As evidence, he cited 882 students from government schools clearing the NEET medical entrance examination — a metric that carries particular weight because government-school NEET results have historically lagged far behind private coaching-backed peers.

The Aam Aadmi Party has made the transformation of government schools a signature plank since its Delhi years beginning in 2015, investing heavily in infrastructure, teacher training, and outcomes-based accountability. Punjab, where AAP swept to power in 2022, has followed a similar template — positioning public school improvement and private sector regulation as two sides of the same coin. A stronger government system, the argument goes, gives parents a credible alternative and reduces their dependence on — and vulnerability to — private school pricing power.

What parents and school managements watch next

The bill's introduction is the opening move; passage, rule-making, and implementation are the harder acts. School management associations in several states have successfully challenged similar regulations in high courts, arguing interference with institutional autonomy. The real test for Punjab's legislation will come in those subsequent stages — and in whether next year's enrollment data and NEET results back up the government's headline numbers.

For now, Mann's message to 32 lakh families is unambiguous: the days of the annual uniform swap and the mandatory vendor list are numbered. Whether the Vidhan Sabha and the courts agree will determine how quickly that promise lands in school corridors.