NEW DELHI: The performance gap in school education between India's top and bottom-ranking states and Union territories has narrowed from 51% in 2017-18 to 42% in the 2023-24 cycle, according to the education ministry's latest performance grading index (PGI) 2.0, suggesting that many states are catching up with the better performers.
Yet, the report underscores a significant concern - none of the 36 states and UTs have reached the top four performance grades of Daksh, Utkarsh, Atti-Uttam, and Uttam. Chandigarh, with a score of 703 out of 1,000, is the only entity to enter the Prachesta-1 band (701-760), with most of the states/UTs still in lower bands.
Among states, Punjab led with 631.2 points, followed by Delhi (623.7), Gujarat (614.4), and Odisha (595.6). At the bottom end were Meghalaya (417.9), Arunachal Pradesh (461.4), Mizoram (464.3), Nagaland (468.6), and Bihar (472.0), all placed in Akanshi-2 or Akanshi-3, the lowest performance tiers.
PGI 2.0 evaluates school education systems across 73 indicators in six domains - learning outcomes, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, governance processes, and teacher education & training - assigning each state and UT a score out of 1,000. Grades range from Daksh (top) to Akanshi-3 (bottom), based on performance on these indicators, which are derived from sources such as UDISE+, NAS 2021, PRABANDH, PM Poshan and Vidyanjali.
As many as 25 states and UTs are currently in the Akanshi category (scores below 580), indicating acontinuing need for systemic improvements. At the same time, this represents a slight improvement from the 28 states/UTs in Akanshi category in 2022-23. Also, the highest grade attained has moved from Prachesta-2 to Prachesta-1.
"The narrowing of the inter-state performance gap is a testament to the collective efforts of states and our commitment to cooperative federalism in education," said Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. "PGI 2.0 reflects the transformational impact of NE, which has empowered states to pursue evidence-based reforms."
The best performers over a two-year period were Himachal Pradesh (up 41 points to 573.8), Telangana (up 22.6 points to 511.9), Chandigarh (up 15.2 to 703), Odisha (up 11.1 to 595.6) and Goa (up 8.4 to 589.7). Delhi recorded the sharpest single-year rise - 44.4 points - driven largely by improvements in school infrastructure and teacher training. However, its 2021-22 score was not published, making it ineligible for the two-year comparative analysis.
In contrast, Chhattisgarh posted the steepest decline, falling 38.6 points from 533.2 to 494.6 due to slippage in governance and equity indicators. West Bengal dropped by 14 points and Tamil Nadu registered a marginal fall of 4.5 points.
A domain-wise breakdown highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of major states. Kerala, for example, stood out by becoming the only state to achieve Daksh in the teacher education & training domain, scoring 91.4 out of 100 - reflecting its consistent investment in teacher quality and professional development. Odisha showed strong equity outcomes, with one of the highest scores in bridging gender, caste, and regional disparities. Gujarat, with an overall score of 614.4, excelled in governance (87.8/130) and teacher training (83.3/100), but lagged in learning outcomes.
Bihar, a state which faces longstanding educational challenges, showed some improvement in access and teacher training but continued to struggle with infrastructure, scoring only 55 out of 190 - placing it in Akanshi-1 for that domain. Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, moved up to Akanshi-1 grade with 528.1 points, driven by better equity and teacher indicators, though governance remained a weak domain.
Maharashtra (582.0) entered Prachesta-3 band with gains in equity and teacher training but needs to improve in infrastructure and governance. Tamil Nadu (559.2), despite a legacy of educational progress, saw a dip in its overall score and domain-wise fall in governance and teacher metrics.
The report concluded that while progress is evident, states still have significant ground to cover. "The highest grade achieved so far is only Prachesta-1, and all states/UTs still have considerable work to do to reach the 1,000-point benchmark," the ministry said. And whether they do so or not will reflect in future PGI 2.0 scores, which remain a critical monitoring and reform tool under NE to help align education systems with Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Yet, the report underscores a significant concern - none of the 36 states and UTs have reached the top four performance grades of Daksh, Utkarsh, Atti-Uttam, and Uttam. Chandigarh, with a score of 703 out of 1,000, is the only entity to enter the Prachesta-1 band (701-760), with most of the states/UTs still in lower bands.
Among states, Punjab led with 631.2 points, followed by Delhi (623.7), Gujarat (614.4), and Odisha (595.6). At the bottom end were Meghalaya (417.9), Arunachal Pradesh (461.4), Mizoram (464.3), Nagaland (468.6), and Bihar (472.0), all placed in Akanshi-2 or Akanshi-3, the lowest performance tiers.
PGI 2.0 evaluates school education systems across 73 indicators in six domains - learning outcomes, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, governance processes, and teacher education & training - assigning each state and UT a score out of 1,000. Grades range from Daksh (top) to Akanshi-3 (bottom), based on performance on these indicators, which are derived from sources such as UDISE+, NAS 2021, PRABANDH, PM Poshan and Vidyanjali.
As many as 25 states and UTs are currently in the Akanshi category (scores below 580), indicating acontinuing need for systemic improvements. At the same time, this represents a slight improvement from the 28 states/UTs in Akanshi category in 2022-23. Also, the highest grade attained has moved from Prachesta-2 to Prachesta-1.
"The narrowing of the inter-state performance gap is a testament to the collective efforts of states and our commitment to cooperative federalism in education," said Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. "PGI 2.0 reflects the transformational impact of NE, which has empowered states to pursue evidence-based reforms."
The best performers over a two-year period were Himachal Pradesh (up 41 points to 573.8), Telangana (up 22.6 points to 511.9), Chandigarh (up 15.2 to 703), Odisha (up 11.1 to 595.6) and Goa (up 8.4 to 589.7). Delhi recorded the sharpest single-year rise - 44.4 points - driven largely by improvements in school infrastructure and teacher training. However, its 2021-22 score was not published, making it ineligible for the two-year comparative analysis.
In contrast, Chhattisgarh posted the steepest decline, falling 38.6 points from 533.2 to 494.6 due to slippage in governance and equity indicators. West Bengal dropped by 14 points and Tamil Nadu registered a marginal fall of 4.5 points.
A domain-wise breakdown highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of major states. Kerala, for example, stood out by becoming the only state to achieve Daksh in the teacher education & training domain, scoring 91.4 out of 100 - reflecting its consistent investment in teacher quality and professional development. Odisha showed strong equity outcomes, with one of the highest scores in bridging gender, caste, and regional disparities. Gujarat, with an overall score of 614.4, excelled in governance (87.8/130) and teacher training (83.3/100), but lagged in learning outcomes.
Bihar, a state which faces longstanding educational challenges, showed some improvement in access and teacher training but continued to struggle with infrastructure, scoring only 55 out of 190 - placing it in Akanshi-1 for that domain. Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, moved up to Akanshi-1 grade with 528.1 points, driven by better equity and teacher indicators, though governance remained a weak domain.
Maharashtra (582.0) entered Prachesta-3 band with gains in equity and teacher training but needs to improve in infrastructure and governance. Tamil Nadu (559.2), despite a legacy of educational progress, saw a dip in its overall score and domain-wise fall in governance and teacher metrics.
The report concluded that while progress is evident, states still have significant ground to cover. "The highest grade achieved so far is only Prachesta-1, and all states/UTs still have considerable work to do to reach the 1,000-point benchmark," the ministry said. And whether they do so or not will reflect in future PGI 2.0 scores, which remain a critical monitoring and reform tool under NE to help align education systems with Sustainable Development Goal 4.
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