Performing Grade Index 2021-22: Chandigarh, Punjab Best Performers In School Education

The Performance Grade Index (PGI) for the year 2021-22 has been released by the Union Ministry of Education. According to the report unveiled on Friday, Chandigarh and Punjab have emerged as the top performers in imparting school education, encompassing various aspects such as learning outcomes, equity, and infrastructure. Both states have secured the sixth rank on the index. The PGI rates states and Union Territories (UTs) across ten categories, but none of them managed to secure a position in the top five.

Chandigarh and Punjab fall under the "Prachesta-2" level, where a state must score between 641 and 700 out of a possible 1,000 points. Below them, there are six states and UTs in the seventh level, known as "Prachesta-3," with scores ranging from 581 to 640. Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu have been assigned to this level. At the bottom of the list, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Mizoram have been included in the "Akanshi-3" level, scoring between 401 and 460.

In 2017, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh were the top-performing states, achieving scores between 901 and 950 out of 1,000. However, this year, no state or union territory was able to secure the top position. The Performance Grade Index aims to create an environment that encourages each state and UT to continually improve their performance, as mentioned in the report. It also highlights that the difference between the maximum and minimum scores received by each state was 259 points, which accounts for 39% of the minimum points. Arunachal Pradesh needs to work harder in order to achieve the top spot in light of this discrepancy.

In 2017-18, this performance gap was 51%, indicating that the PGI has contributed to narrowing the disparity over time. This improvement could be attributed to government initiatives like the look East strategy, according to the Union Education Report. The decrease in ratings this year is attributed to a modification of the evaluation criteria. The ministry has reevaluated the existing criteria and introduced a new one in response to criticism that the PGI assessment was overly focused on governance procedures rather than the quality index. Consequently, the "Learning Outcomes and Quality" indicator has been assigned 240 points, up from 180 last year, while the "Infrastructure" indicator receives 190 points, up from 150. The equity criterion now carries a higher rating, ranging from 230 to 260 points. To accommodate the growing significance of these three indicators, the weight placed on governance procedures has been reduced from 360 to 130 points. Additionally, this year saw the inclusion of a new metric, teacher training, which carries a weightage of 100 points.