Release of Performance Grading Index Report for States and UTs by the Education Ministry

The Performance Grading Index (PGI) for States/UTs for 2020–21, a special index for evidence-based comprehensive study of school education systems across States/UTs, was announced today by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education

"With around 14.9 lakh schools, 95 lakh teachers, and nearly 26.5 crore pupils from various socioeconomic backgrounds, the Indian education system is one of the biggest in the world. PGI was created by DoSE&L for States and UTs to give data-driven insights.

processes that affect how well school education is performing and succeeding in all States and UTs. Promoting evidence-based policymaking and highlighting course correction to provide high-quality education for all are PGI's main goals. So

The PGI reports for the years 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20 have so far been made public by DoSE&L. The current report is for the 2020–21 fiscal year "read the official press release.

The PGI structure consists of 1000 points across 70 indicators, which are categorised into Outcomes and Governance and Management, respectively (GM). These categories are further broken down into 5 domains: governance process, infrastructure and facilities, equity, and learning outcomes (GP). PGI 2020-21 divided the States and UTs into ten grades, with Level 1 being the highest grade that can be earned by a State or UT scoring more than 950 out of a possible 1000 points.

Level 10 is the lowest grade and corresponds to a score of less than 551. The ultimate goal of PGI is to encourage States and UTs to implement multifaceted interventions that will result in the highly sought ideal educational outcomes in all respects.

According to the Ministry, the PGI is anticipated to assist States and UTs in identifying the gaps and prioritising areas for intervention in order to ensure that the school education system is strong at all levels.

"A total of 7 States and UTs, Viz., Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh have attained Level II (score 901-950) in 2020-21 as compared to none in 2017-18 and 4 in 2019-20. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the new entrants to the highest achieved level of any state so far," the statement added.

The newly formed UT viz., Ladakh has made significant improvement in PGI from Level 8 to Level 4 in 2020-21 or improved its score by 299 points in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20 resulting into the highest ever improvement in a single year.

"PGI Scores and grades achieved by States/UTs in 2020-21 bear testimony to the efficacy of the PGI system. The indicator-wise PGI score shows the areas where a state needs to improve. The PGI will reflect the relative performance of all the States/UTs in a uniform scale which encourages them to perform better and to adopt best practice followed by performers," added the statement.