₹21-cr Vidya Shakti Mission to provide free coaching to 2,000+ high achievers

New Delhi: The Delhi government has announced significant progress under its flagship Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Vidya Shakti Mission, a Rs.21-crore initiative aimed at providing free professional coaching to 2,200 high-performing students from government schools. The programme covers premier competitive exams including JEE, NEET, CLAT, CA Foundation and CUET-UG.

Education Minister Ashish Sood, sharing the latest developments, said the mission reflects the government’s broader vision of AI-enabled classrooms, emotionally safe learning spaces and equal academic opportunity for all children. He added that the initiative is designed not only to support academic preparation but also to strengthen students’ psychological and emotional resilience. As part of the scheme, 50 seats in each of the JEE, NEET, CLAT and CA Foundation courses are reserved for girls, while CUET-UG offers 1,000 seats, including 150 reserved for female students. Coaching will be conducted by leading empanelled institutions such as Aakash Institute, Narayana Academy, KD Campus and Ravindra Institute, with sessions scheduled after school hours and on weekends. The Minister highlighted that over 62,000 students appeared for the Common Entrance Test (CET-2025) held on October 30, demonstrating the rising ambition among Delhi’s youth.

Counselling for selected candidates has been completed, and classroom instruction began on November 26. Sood stressed the government’s focus on emotional well-being in schools, calling for stronger psychological support systems, early distress detection and enhanced teacher training on mental health. He said the mission represents a commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat and ensures no student is held back due to financial limitations or lack of guidance.