Kerala, Maharashtra And Punjab Top Education Ministry's 2020-21 Performing Grade Index

Six states and one Union territory have attained the best rating of Level 2 (L2) in the ministry's Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2020-21

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New Delhi: Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab have topped the 2020-21 Performing Grade Index that assesses school education at the district level, according to the Ministry of Education's report.

Six states and one Union territory have attained the best rating of Level 2 (L2) in the ministry's Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2020-21, a unique index for evidence-based comprehensive analysis of the school education system. No state, however, has been able to attain the highest level of L1 so far.

The seven states and UTs which have received L2 are Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the new entrants to L2 level.

Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Kerala topped PGI 2019-20. Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh have achieved level 2 (901 to 950 points) in PGI 2020-21. Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra have scored the highest 928 points.

Chandigarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh scored 927, 903, 903, and 902 points, respectively.

The newly formed UT, 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 in highest ever improvement in a single year. The PGI structure comprises of 1,000 points across 70 indicators grouped into two categories namely, Outcomes, Governance Management (GM). These categories are further divided into five domains -- Learning Outcomes (LO), Access (A), Infrastructure & Facilities (IF), Equity (E) and Governance Process (GP).

As was done in the previous years, PGI 2020-21 classified the states and UTs into 10 grades with the highest achievable grade being Level 1, which is for the state or UTs scoring more than 950 points out of the total of 1,000 points.

The lowest grade is Level 10 which is for score below 551. The ultimate aim of PGI is to propel states and UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions that will bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes covering all dimensions.

The PGI is expected to help states and UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.

"PGI scores and grades achieved by states and UTs in 2020-21 bear a 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 and UTs in a uniform scale which encourages them to perform better and to adopt best practice followed by performers," a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official said.

The ministry's Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L) had devised PGI for states and UTs to provide insights and data driven mechanism on the performance and achievements of school education.

The prime objective of PGI is to promote evidence-based policy making and highlight course correction to ensure quality education for all. So far, DoSE&L has released PGI report for the year 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The present report is for the year 2020-21.

Delhi, Karnataka, West Bengal, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu achieved level 3 with scores between 851 and 900.

Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, and Tripura achieved level 4 (801 to 850 points) and level 5 (751 to 800 points).

Bihar, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Telangana made it to level 5. Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Uttarakhand have been placed in level 6 (701 to 750 points). Arunachal Pradesh achieved level 7, scoring 669 points.

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