Performance Grading Index 2019-20: Kerala, TN, Punjab, Chandigarh, Andaman get A++ Grade

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Sunday approved the release of the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for States and Union Territories of India. The Government has introduced the Performance Grading Index with a set of 70 parameters to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education. As per the PGI, Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Kerala have bagged the highest grade (Grade A++) for 2019-20.

PGI 2019-20: Most States have improved their grade

This is the third edition of PGI that was first released in the year 2019 with the reference year 2017-18. As per the latest report, most of the States/UTs have improved their grade in PGI 2019-20 compared to the earlier years. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have improved overall PGI score by 10%, i.e., 100 or more points. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Punjab have shown improvement by 10% (8 points) or more in the PGI domain: Access.

PGI 2019-20: Domain-wise Improvement of States & UTs

As many as 13 states and UTs have shown improvement by 10% (15 points) or more in the PGI domain: Infrastructure and Facilities. Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Odisha have shown improvement by 20% or more.  Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Odisha have shown more than 10% improvement in the PGI domain: Equity. Nineteen states and UTs have shown improvement by 10% (36 points) or more in the PGI domain: Governance Process. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have shown improvement by at least 20% (72 points or more). 

"The schemes initiated by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) along with the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, have resulted in significant improvement inaccessibility. As a logical next step, the focus has now shifted from access to quality of education. DoSEL, therefore, has designed the Performance Grading Index (PGI) to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education," the report states. 

The PGI report has been prepared with the same set of 70 parameters used for the two previous PGIs. In the present PGI, data for 54 of the 70 parameters are for the year 2019-20. In the Statements and Charts of PGI 2019-20, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been shown separately. Moreover, the data for Ladakh has been compiled for the first time as a separate UT, its scores and grades for the earlier reference years for computing PGI are not available.