Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood. File
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Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday (December 1, 2025) said the government has started providing free coaching for competitive exams to students of Delhi Government schools. “Students were selected based on the results of a competitive exam held on October 30, 2025. They joined physical classes on November 26,” he added.
The Minister said several leading institutes have been empanelled in the Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Vidya Shakti Mission for which ₹21 crore has been set aside.
Terming the initiative a “turning point in Delhi’s public education”, Mr. Sood said the selected students will receive classroom coaching, study material, and test-preparation support after school hours and on weekends. He added that 50 seats have been reserved in each course for girl students. Through the scheme, students will be prepared for various exams, including NEET, CLAT, and CUET.
“These students are not just preparing for exams; they are preparing to transform their lives. With this mission, we are not only offering educational resources but also building the courage, confidence, and emotional strength to dream bigger,” said Mr. Sood. He added that the programme is aimed at “bridging societal gaps” and “unlocking Delhi’s academic potential at the grassroots”.
Four in ten Delhi school students take private tuition, spend twice the national average: Survey
Support for students
The Minister also urged school administrators to strengthen psychological support systems, early-identification protocols for distress, and teacher sensitisation on mental-health issues.
The statement comes in the wake of the death by suicide of a Class 10 student of St. Columba’s School on November 18, 2025.
AAP govt.’s initiative
In 2018, the previous Aam Aadmi Party government had launched a similar programme — the ‘Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana’ — for students from reserved categories and households with an annual income below ₹8 lakh.
However, the programme stalled after the private institutes empanelled under the scheme said they had stopped receiving payments. In July 2025, Mr. Sood announced that the Anti-Corruption Branch had been asked to investigate an alleged ₹145-crore scam in the scheme.
Published – December 02, 2025 10:46 am IST
