Performance Grading Index: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala top index, all you need to know

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ recently approved the released of the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for states and Union Territories, which is designed to "catalyse transformational change" in the field of school education.

According to the Performance Grading Index (PGI) released on Sunday by the education ministry, Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Kerala occupy the highest grade A++ in 2019-20 in the field of school education.

Approved the release of Performance Grading Index 2019-20 which is designed to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education.
For details, visit https://t.co/kTvULvq7Ph pic.twitter.com/TkdleuYoGp

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) June 6, 2021

The grading index which analyses the performance of states on 70 parameters has put Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli in the A+ category.

Punjab has scored the maximum points for governance and management; Bihar and Meghalaya have scored the lowest in terms of infrastructure and facilities.

According to the index, most of the states and UTs have improved their grade in PGI 2019-20 compared to earlier years.

Before we see how other states have fared, let's understand what the PGI is and the need for it.

What is PGI?

The Centre introduced the Performance Grading Index with a set of 70 parameters to "catalyse transformational change in the field of school education." The 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.

According to DDNews, first published in 2019 with the reference year 2017-18, the index aims to drive states to undertake “multi-pronged interventions” for optimal education outcomes. “The PGI helps the States/UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritize areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.”

The PGI: States/UTs for 2019-20 is the third publication in this series.

The Union education minister said that the major purpose of PGI is indeed to create an environment that nudges states/UTs to continuously improve their performance.

How will it help?

The exercise, which is the first of its kind at such a scale, envisages that the Index will propel the states and UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions that will bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes.

The purpose of the PGI, therefore, is to help the states and UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritize areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.

At the same time, it will also act as a good source of information for best practices followed by states and UTs which can be shared.

As per the official website (pgi.seshagun.gov.in), the PGI will allow all states and UTs to occupy the highest level ie Grade I, at the same time, which is a sign of a fully developed nation. Grading, in an ideal situation, allows all states and UTs to be construed as star performers and be at Grade I, which is the ultimate goal of the PGI.

The PGI grades states and UTs, as opposed to ranking. Grading, by allowing several states and UTs to be considered at the same level, eliminates the phenomenon of one improving only at the cost of others, thereby casting a stigma of underperformance on the latter, though, in effect they may have maintained the status quo or even done better than earlier.

One of the main purposes of the PGI is to make the states and UTs aware of the areas where there is scope for improvement and strive to reach the maximum possible score and be in the highest grade/level. All states and UTs, wherever they are placed, should strive to move up to higher grades/levels in the subsequent years and as a country, the aim is that all the states and UTs should be in the highest.

PGI 2019-2020

Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kerala have been ranked as the highest grade for 2019-20. Most of the states/UTs have improved their grade in PGI 2019-20 compared to the earlier years.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Odisha have shown marked improvements in the infrastructure domain between 2019-20 and 2018-19, indicating that the states and union territories have started to take action for improving their infrastructure and facilities, albeit by varying extent.

Thirteen states and UTs have shown improvement by 10 percent in the domain of infrastructure and facilities, the report said.

PGI_2019_20_en by Manasi Chandu on Scribd

While 19 states and UTs have shown improvement by 10 percent or more in the domain of governance process. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, and West Bengal have improved by at least 20 percent, it said.

"While it is common knowledge that shortage of teachers, principals and administrative staff, lack of regular supervision and inspection, inadequate training of the teachers, timely availability of finances (all of which are captured in the governance and management domain) are some of the factors plaguing the education system in the country, it is for the first time that there is a reliable tool that corroborates this," the report said.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu have improved overall PGI score by 10 percent – 100 or more points.

While Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Odisha have shown more than 10 percent improvement in the domain of equity, it said.

With inputs from agencies