Chandigarh, Feb. 22 -- As many as 305 students from Punjab government schools have qualified in the first attempt of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains 2026, registering a remarkable 63% increase over last year's 187 successful candidates. Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, education minister Harjot Singh Bains describe its as a defining moment for the state's school education system. Bains shared that five students from his constituency Anandpur Sahib also cracked the examination. He announced that the government will organise a special three-week residential training camp to prepare the qualified students for JEE Advance, ensuring they receive focused guidance for the next stage. "The recent JEE mains phase 1 results showcased an outstanding performance by Punjab government schools, with 305 students cracking the competitive engineering exam," said Harjot Singh Bains. Highlighting the human stories behind the numbers, the education minister shared that Bhavishya, a Class 12 non-medical student from the School of Eminence, Town Hall, Amritsar, secured an impressive 98.182 percentile despite coming from a family with an annual income of Rs.1.5 lakh. His father runs a mobile repair shop and his mother works as a tailor. "Despite financial constraints, his determination to pursue engineering and uplift his family remained unshaken. With strong school support and disciplined preparation, he achieved outstanding success," he said. He further informed that Dilkhush Jha, a government school student from Bathinda, scored 95.091 percentile in JEE Mains. With a labourer father and homemaker mother and an annual family income of Rs.1.2 lakh, he relied on self-study and PACE classes to excel. Similarly, Priyanka Sharma, a science student from the School of Eminence, Sangrur, secured 96.44 percentile in JEE mains while simultaneously preparing for NEET. Coming from a family with an annual income of Rs.3.5 lakh, she benefitted from PACE classes, mock tests and structured guidance....