Punjab Newsline, Bathinda —
The Central University of Punjab (CU Punjab) has invited online applications for admission to the free coaching programme for Union and State Public Service Commission Civil Services Examinations for the academic session 2025–26 through its Dr. Ambedkar Centre of Excellence (DACE). The coaching programme, being implemented through DACE under the aegis of the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, is designed to prepare aspirants for all stages of the Civil Services Examinations, including Preliminary, Mains, Interview, and other related stages, through the DACE Entrance Examination 2025–26.
A total of 220 seats will be allotted to candidates belonging to SC, OBC, Denotified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Communities, and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) categories, under which candidates will avail free coaching. In addition, 20 extra seats will be offered under the DACE scheme with paid coaching to candidates from General, SC, OBC, or any other category. To promote gender equity and inclusive access to higher education, 30% of the free coaching seats are reserved for female candidates in the SC & OBC category.
Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari stated that the Dr. Ambedkar Centre of Excellence reflects the Government of India’s and University’s strong commitment to social justice, academic empowerment, and nation-building. He emphasized that by providing free and quality coaching to aspiring civil servants, CU Punjab is contributing towards creating equal opportunities for meritorious students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
DACE Coordinator Dr. Vinod Arya informed that the programme offers structured classroom coaching, expert mentoring, regular assessments, and comprehensive academic support to help aspirants excel at every stage of the civil services examinations. He further added that the DACE at CU Punjab has supported a large number of candidates in qualifying various competitive examinations and till now 62 candidates have cleared different examination levels.
Interested candidates may apply online and obtain detailed information regarding eligibility criteria, syllabus, and examination pattern through the official website: https://cup.edu.in/dace. The last date for submission of online applications is December 22, 2025.