New Delhi

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Monday reviewed the progress of the ‘Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Vidya Shakti Mission’, informing the Directorate of Education that 2,200 students are currently receiving free competitive exam coaching under the scheme.

The ₹21-crore mission aims to ensure that students of Delhi government schools have access to AI-equipped classrooms, human-value based learning, and equal opportunities, Sood said.

Launched to support meritorious government school students, the initiative provides free coaching for JEE, NEET, CLAT, CA and CUET through institutions such as Aakash Institute, Narayana Academy, KD Campus and Ravindra Institute. Students receive classroom teaching, live sessions, study material and test-preparation support, with classes held after school and on weekends.

Sood said the scheme seeks not only to provide academic resources but also to reinforce students’ emotional strength, confidence and aspiration. “These students are not just preparing for exams, but to transform their lives,” he said.

To promote gender inclusion, the government has reserved 50 seats exclusively for girls in JEE, NEET, CLAT and CA Foundation courses, and 150 of the 1,000 CUET-UG seats.

According to the minister, around 62,000 students took the CET-2025 held on October 30 to qualify for the coaching programme. The counselling process has been completed, and classes began on November 26.

Referring to recent distress incidents involving students in Delhi schools, Sood stressed the need for an emotionally safe and supportive learning atmosphere, urging all schools to strengthen psychological support systems, stress-identification measures, mental-health sensitisation for teachers, and peer networks.

He added that the government is working to make Delhi’s schools “future-ready”, combining AI classrooms, digital infrastructure, modern furniture and human values, so that government schools become the “preferred choice for generations to come.”

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Calling the Vidya Shakti Mission “a movement rather than a scheme”, Sood said it is designed to empower talent, protect mental health, bridge social gaps and expand educational opportunities from the grassroots level.