Central Idea

The annual Performance Grading Index (PGI) released by the Union government ranks the performance of States and Union Territories in school education for the year 2021-22.
While Chandigarh and Punjab emerged as the top performers, none of the states or UTs achieved the highest grade, Daksh, indicating room for improvement across the board.

Performance Grading Index (PGI)

The Performance Grading Index (PGI) is a tool to provide insights on the status of school education in States and UTs including key levers that drive their performance and critical areas for improvement.
The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) has designed the PGI to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education.

Learning Outcomes: Assessing students’ performance in subjects such as language, math, science, and social science.
Access to Education: Evaluating net enrolment ratio, retention rates, transitions between educational levels, and mainstreaming of out-of-school children.
Infrastructure: Examining availability of science labs, computer labs, book banks, vocational education subjects, mid-day meal supply, functional drinking water facilities, and provision of uniforms and free textbooks.
Equity: Considering the performance gap between marginalized communities and the general category, as well as the presence of inclusive infrastructure like ramps and disabled-friendly toilets.
Educational Governance and Management: Assessing digital attendance records, the presence of single-teacher primary schools, vacancies in educational posts, inspections, and teacher evaluations.

Daksh: The highest grade in the PGI, scoring above 940 out of 1,000 points.
Akanshi-3: The lowest grade, with scores up to 460 points.
Top Performers: Chandigarh and Punjab secured the sixth-highest grade, Prachesta-2, followed closely by Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu at Prachesta-3.
Improvement Needed: Thirteen states, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, were categorized as Akanshi-1 states, indicating substantial room for improvement.

Domain-Wise Action: The report highlights that states can take specific actions in each domain to improve their overall score in the PGI.