Four states, one UT get highest grade in Education Ministry’s Performance Grading Index 2019-20

Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have crossed the 90% threshold on the performance grading index for 2019-20 devised to track changes in school education across the country.

Karnataka has moved up from Level 5 to Level 4 in the performance grading index (PGI) for 2019-20, which was released on Sunday, with improvement in the governance processes domain that deals with structural reforms in areas ranging from monitoring the attendance of teachers to ensuring transparent recruitment of teachers and principals.

The PGI was introduced by the Education Ministry in 2019 with 2017-18 as the reference year to track changes in the quality of education imparted across schools in the country.

“Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Kerala occupy the highest grade (Grade A++) for 2019-20,” the PGI report said, adding that for the first time the states and UTs have surpassed the 90% threshold in PGI scores.

The PGI assesses states/UTs across five domains – learning outcomes and quality, access, infrastructure & facilities, equity, and governance – with a total weightage of 1000.

A perusal of the reports of 2019-20 and 2018-19 shows most of the states and UTs have improved their grade in PGI 2019-20.

In the PGI 2018-19, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Kerala had topped the index by achieving more than 85% scores on a scale of 1,000.

The report identifies governance processes and infrastructure as the weak links of the education system. Two states – Bihar and Meghalaya have scored the lowest scores in this domain.

“This is a cause for concern as a proper school building with adequate facilities is a must to improve the overall quality of school education,” the report said.

On the brighter side, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Odisha have shown marked improvements in the infrastructure domain between 2019-20 and 2018-19, indicating that the states and UTs have started to take action for improving their infrastructure and facilities.

“Happy to share that Punjab has been ranked as the top performer among all States & UTs in School Education in the Performance Grading Index 2019-20 released by the Union Education Ministry. This is the result of focus, hard work & commitment of all our teachers & administrators,” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said.