PERFORMANCE GRADING INDEX - REPORT AND INDICES

News: Seven States top government index on school education

What's in the news?

       Gujarat is now among the top performers in school education, according to an index released by the Ministry of Education.

Key takeaways:

       Though no state found a place in the top grade, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have joined Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Maharashtra categorized under Level 2 with a score of 901 to 950 out of a total score of 1,000.

       A total of 12 States and UTs, including National Capital Territory of Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha, attained Level 3 with a score between 851-900.

       No State figured in the bottom three grades.

       The report notes that Ladakh has seen the biggest improvement by climbing up from Level 10 in 2019-2020 to Level 4 in 2020-2021.

       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.

Performance Grading Index:

       The Performance Grading Index of the Ministry of Education classifies states and union territories into 10 grades based on their score out of a total 1,000 points.

       Their performance is assessed on a total of 70 indicators.

       Five domains:

       Learning outcome

       Access

       Infrastructure and facilities

       Equity

       Governance process.

       The Index is based on data drawn from several data sources:

       Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2020-21

       National Achievement Survey NAS 2017

       Mid Day Meal Portal

       PGI 2020-21 classified the States/UTs into ten grades viz., the highest achievable Grade is Level 1, which is for State/UT scoring more than 950 points out of a total of 1000 points. The lowest grade is Level 10 which is for scores below 551.

Significance of PGI:

1. Data-driven:

       It offers perspectives and data-driven tools on the effectiveness and accomplishments of school education.

2. Evidence-based policymaking:

       The PGI's main goal is promoting evidence-based policymaking and emphasizing course correction to achieve high-quality education for all.

3. Encourage implementation of multifaceted initiatives:

       Exercise anticipates that the Index will encourage the states and union territories (UTs) to implement multifaceted initiatives that will lead to the highly desired optimal academic outcomes.

4. Assist states:

       In order to ensure that the school education system is vital at every level, the PGI's goal is to assist States and UTs in identifying the gaps and prioritizing areas for intervention in accordance with those priorities.

       In addition, it will serve as a useful resource for information on best practices used by States and UTs that may be exchanged.

       The PGI system's performance is demonstrated by the States/UTs grades and scores for the academic years 2020–21. The areas in which a state needs to make progress are identified by the PGI score broken down by indicator.

       In order to motivate all States and UTs to perform better and adopt the best practices, the PGI will present the relative performance of each State and UT on a uniform scale.