Punjab, Chandigarh among top 5 in Performance Grading Index 2019-20

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 6 

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Saturday approved the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for States and Union Territories (UTs) in which Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Kerala have got the highest grade of A++.

The major purpose of PGI is indeed to create an environment that nudges States/UTs to continuously improve its performance, the minister said. “Finally, I’m happy to share that19 states and UTs have shown improvement by 10 per cent (36 points) or more in the PGI domain: Governance Process. Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan & West Bengal show improvement by at least 20 per cent”, he said.

The ministry said most of the States/UTs improved their grade in PGI 2019-20 compared to the earlier years. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab and Tamil Nadu improved their overall PGI score by 10 per cent—that is 100 point or more.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Punjab have shown improvement of 10 percent (eight points) or more in the ‘Access’ domain.

As many as 13 states and UTs have shown improvement by 10 percent (15 points) or more in ‘Infrastructure and Facilities’ while Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Odisha have improved their scores in the domain by 20 percent or mored.

In ‘Equity’, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Odisha have shown an improvement of more than 10 per cent.

In ‘Governance Process’, 19 states have shown improvement by 10 per cent (36 points) or more. “Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal have shown improvement by at least 20 per cent (72 points or more),” the Ministry said.

The PGI for States and Union Territories was first published in 2019 with reference year 2017-18.

The index has been prepared with 70 parameters to “catalyse transformational change in the field of school education.”

The PGI: States/UTs for 2019-20 is the third publication in this series. “The PGI exercise envisages that the index would propel States and UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions that that will bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes.

“The PGI helps the States/UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level,” the Ministry said.

“State-wise performance in PGI 2019-20 shows that 33 States and UTs have improved their PGI scores in 2019-20 compared to the previous year. The major purpose of PGI is indeed to create an environment that nudges States/UTs to continuously improve its performance,” said Pokhriyal.

“The difference between the maximum and minimum PGI scores is more than 380 points in the year 2019-20. The main purpose of PGI is to make all the States and UTs aware of the areas where there is scope for improvement. We aim to have all the States and UTs at the highest,” he added.

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