Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains, along with Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia, on Tuesday launched a programme to empower three lakh students in Classes 9 to 12 across 500 government schools with world-class English communication skills.

The programme — The English Edge – Learn Smart, Speak Sharp — aims to equip the students with confident English speaking, reading and thinking skills besides enhancing their employability and access to the global market, Bains said while addressing the gathering at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Describing it as a milestone under Punjab Sikhya Kranti, a mission to revolutionise Punjab’s education system, the minister said the programme combines in-school digital reading lessons with home-based speaking practice. Through guided reading, pronunciation support and daily 10-minute practice sessions, it would help to enhance comprehension and spoken fluency, empowering students to excel in English.

The initiative is being implemented by the school education department in collaboration with EnglishHelper, a global EdTech organisation that has worked across several Indian states in this direction, Bains said.

The programme complements ongoing reforms such as entrepreneurship mindset curriculum, drug de-addiction curriculum and business blasters programme, designed to make Punjab’s classrooms hubs of creativity, communication and critical thinking, Bains said.