India’s best government school is in Chandigarh: Sector 16 school ranked No. 1

CHANDIGARH. A Chandigarh school has beaten every other government co-ed day school in the country. Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 16, has topped the Education World India School Rankings 2026-27, and two more Chandigarh government schools have made it to India’s top 10.

Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria honoured the principals of all three schools on Monday. He also felicitated government school students who gave speeches at Parliament House in New Delhi, and a Class 9 girl selected for ISRO’s YUVIKA young scientist programme.

Top 10 government schools in India: 3 from Chandigarh

Along with Sector 16 at No. 1, GMSSS Modern Housing Complex, Manimajra, was ranked ninth and GMSSS Sector 35 tenth in the government day co-ed category.

Chandigarh students speak at Parliament House

Four students of Government Model High School, Dadumajra, attended the Know Your Leaders Programme in the Central Hall of Parliament House on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Kavya (Class 8), Dila Dangi (Class 10) and Suraj (Class 10) were among just 12 students chosen from across India to speak on the two leaders. Khushboo (Class 8) attended as an invited student. Theirs was the only Chandigarh school at the event.

The students shared their Parliament experience with the Administrator and senior officers at Monday’s ceremony.

Their teachers, Bharat Bhushan (TGT, Social Science) and Preeti (TGT, Science), who prepared them, were also honoured.

ISRO YUVIKA: Mauli Jagran student selected

Janvi, a Class 9 student of GMSSS Mauli Jagran, was felicitated for being picked for ISRO’s YUVIKA (Yuva Vigyani Karyakram), which introduces school students to space science and technology. She spoke about what she learnt during the programme.

Right guidance makes the difference

Kataria said these results prove that government school students can shine in any field when they get the right chances and guidance. He pointed to remedial classes, smart classrooms, free NCERT books and career guidance in Chandigarh’s government schools.

He credited teachers and mentors with building students’ confidence and skills, and urged the children to keep working hard and bring more honours to the city.

Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary to the Governor Vivek Pratap Singh, Education Secretary Prerna Puri and Director School Education Nitish Singla were present.