It’s Tamil Nadu and Kerala again, plus Punjab, that top Modi govt’s school grading index

Report released by Ministry of Education says most states and UTs, except Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, have improved on their scores since the previous evaluation.

Representational image of students at a Kashmir school | ANI

New Delhi: Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andaman & Nicobar occupy the highest slots on the Performance Grading Index (PGI) for 2019-2020, which measures India’s school educational levels across its states and union territories.

These states and UTs have scored A++ grade in the index, said a report released by the Ministry of Education Sunday. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal approved the release of the report.

States and UTs are evaluated under two categories — outcomes, and governance and management. These categories comprise 70 indicators in aggregate with a total weightage of 1,000. The indicators measure various things from the learning levels of students subject-wise in a particular grade to the availability of textbooks and other reading materials. It also looks at the infrastructure and availability of staff and teachers in schools.

“The PGI is expected to help States and UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritize areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level. At the same time it is expected to act as a good source of information for best practices followed by States and UTs which can be shared,” said the report.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu have topped the sustainable development goals (SDG) index too, released by Niti Aayog last week.

MP, Chhattisgarh only states that scored less than last year 

According to the report, most of the states/UTs have improved their grade in PGI 2019-20 compared to previous years. PGI was first released in 2019, taking 2017-18 as the reference year. All the data used to tabulate this year’s report has been taken from 2019-20.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have improved overall PGI score by 100 or more points.

As many as 13 states and UTs have shown improvement by 15 points or more in infrastructure and facilities. Andaman & Nicobar and Odisha have shown improvement by 20 points or more in the same domain.

Nineteen states and UTs have shown improvement by 36 points or more in ‘governance process’. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have shown improvement by at least 72 points or more in the same domain.

The report said most states and UTs, except Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, have improved on their scores. MP and Chhattisgarh are the only two states that have scored less than last year.

Talking specifically about state-wise indicators, the report added: “A major purpose of PGI is creation of an environment that would nudge each state/UT to improve their performance continuously.”