Vivek Mukherji
The Ministry of Education has approved the release of the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for states and union territories. The Government has introduced the PGI with a set of 70 parameters to catalyze transformational change in the field of school education. The PGI for states and union territories was first published in 2019 with the reference year 2017-18. The PGI for states and union territories for 2019-20 is the third publication in this series.
The PGI exercise envisages that the index would propel the states and UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions to bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes. The PGI also helps to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.
Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Kerala occupy the highest grade (Grade A++) for 2019-20. Most of the states and union territories 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 100 or more points. In the infrastructure and facilities, PGI domain as many as 13 states and union territories have shown improvement of 10 percent while Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Odisha have shown improvement of 20 percent or more. In the participation in government processes domain, 19 states and union territories have shown improvement of 10 percent or more while Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have shown improvement of at least 20 percent.
