Shimla: In a significant boost to educational equity, Himachal Pradesh’s Samagra Shiksha initiative has enabled government school students to achieve remarkable success in one of India’s toughest engineering entrance examinations. As many as 32 students from government schools cleared JEE Mains 2025-26, while six of them went on to qualify for JEE Advanced.
The achievement comes under the ambitious ‘Super-100’ programme, launched by Samagra Shiksha to provide free, high-quality coaching for national-level competitive examinations such as JEE and NEET. The initiative aims to ensure that financial constraints do not hinder talented students from pursuing careers in engineering and medicine.
A total of 5,193 science stream students from 850 government schools across the state appeared for a state-level selection test conducted in September 2025. Out of them, only 200 students were selected for the intensive coaching programme.
The selected students received live interactive classes, weekly and monthly assessments, printed study material, mentorship sessions and special crash courses free of cost. Two residential boot camps, held in October 2025 and January 2026, also provided students with direct academic guidance from expert faculty.
Among the 32 successful candidates who cleared JEE Mains, 23 are boys and nine are girls. District-wise, Mandi recorded the highest number of successful candidates with six students, followed by Chamba and Solan with five each. Hamirpur and Kangra contributed four students each, Bilaspur and Shimla three each, Sirmaur two, while Kullu and Una recorded one successful candidate each.
Samagra Shiksha Director Rajesh Sharma congratulated the successful students, describing the results as a victory for government school education. He said the achievement demonstrates that students from government institutions are equally capable of securing admission to premier engineering institutes such as IITs and NITs.
“This is not merely success in an examination; it is proof that talent, when supported with the right opportunities, can overcome all barriers. Super-100 serves as a bridge between potential and opportunity,” Sharma said.
State Coordinator Sonia Sharma highlighted that the programme combines subject-specific coaching with continuous evaluation and psychological preparedness sessions. She added that since its inception in 2021, the Super-100 initiative has helped 76 students clear JEE examinations.
The six students who qualified JEE Advanced will now participate in the IIT admission counselling process, marking another milestone for the state’s government school education system.
