Punjab topped the national performance grading index (PGI) of school education for 2020-21 released by the Union ministry of education on Thursday.
It shared top honours with Kerala and Maharashtra as all three states have scored 928 out of total of 1,000 points to make it to level II (901-950) of the annual grading index. No state or union territory managed to attain the highest achievable grade of level I as a score above 950 was required. Punjab, which has over 19,000 government and aided schools, has secured the number one position for the second year running. In 2019-20, the state had scored 929 followed by Chandigarh (912) and Tamil Nadu (906).
The performance index, derived from comprehensive analysis of school education, grades the states and union territories on a set of 70 parameters grouped under five categories - learning outcomes and quality, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity and governance processes. The PGI objective is to promote evidence-based policy making and highlighting course correction to undertake multi-pronged interventions that will bring about the optimal education outcomes, the education ministry said in a statement. Chandigarh has been ranked at number 4 whereas Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are at 11th and 13th positions.
The state’s top ranking has been met with silence from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which took charge in Punjab in March this year. School education minister Harjot Singh Bains could not be contacted. Before the state polls, the AAP had targeted the previous Congress government on school education, comparing the state of government schools and their performance in Punjab with that in Delhi, where the party has been in the government for nearly eight years. At the time of 2019-20 PGI rankings, AAP leader and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia had questioned the top slot for Punjab.
In Thursday’s PGI rankings for 2020-21, though Punjab retained the position, it has not done well in the learning outcomes and quality of education category, lagging behind at number 27. Out of 180, it scored just 126, but has done better than Delhi (124). The category scores are based on the National Achievement Survey (NAS-2017). In the latest NAS, the results of which were released in May this year, Punjab is the top performer. The NAS-2021 results will be taken into account in the next PGI rankings.
{{/usCountry}}In Thursday’s PGI rankings for 2020-21, though Punjab retained the position, it has not done well in the learning outcomes and quality of education category, lagging behind at number 27. Out of 180, it scored just 126, but has done better than Delhi (124). The category scores are based on the National Achievement Survey (NAS-2017). In the latest NAS, the results of which were released in May this year, Punjab is the top performer. The NAS-2021 results will be taken into account in the next PGI rankings.
{{/usCountry}}The state, however, has clinched the top spot in infrastructure and facilities category which looked at the availability of integrated science labs, computer labs, book banks, libraries, percentage of children served mid-day meals, and functional drinking water facilities among other things, scoring the maximum 150 points. Similarly, it is on top, along with Kerala and Delhi, in access to school education category with score of 79 out of 80 points. The states and UTs were graded on Net Enrolment Ratio, retention rate and transition rate at primary, elementary and secondary levels. The state also topped in governance processes and also scored well on equity (providing equal opportunities to disadvantaged sections, including girls and differently abled children).