Performance Grading Index 2020-21

In News

• Recently, the Ministry of Education released its Performance Grading Index.

About the index

• Previous Editions
  • The department has released the PGI report for the year 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. 
• Objective
  • The prime objective of PGI is to promote evidence-based policymaking and highlight course correction to ensure quality education for all. 
• Grading
  • PGI 2020-21 classified the States/UTs into ten grades:
    • Highest achievable Grade is Level 1, which is for State/UT scoring more than 950 points out of a total of 1000 points. 
    • The lowest grade is Level 10 which is for scores below 551. 
• It is an evidence-based comprehensive analysis of the school education system across states and Union Territories.
  • It classifies States and Union Territories into 10 grades based on their score out of a total 1,000 points.
• Their performance is assessed on a total of 70 indicators in five domains:
  • Learning outcome
  • Access
  • Infrastructure and facilities
  • Equity
  • Governance process
• Sources
  • The Index is based on data drawn from several data sources, including the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE +) 2020-21, National Achievement Survey NAS 2017, and Mid Day Meal Portal. 

Major Highlights 

• Top performers 
  • Gujarat is now among the top performers in school education.
  • Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have joined Kerala, Punjab, Chandigarh, and Maharashtra categorised under Level 2 with a score of 901 to 950 out of a total score of 1,000.
  • A total of 12 States and UTs, including National Capital Territory of Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha, attained Level 3 with a score between 851-900
  • No State figured in the bottom three grades.
• Best Improver
  • Ladakh has seen the biggest improvement by climbing up from Level 10 in 2019-2020 to Level 4 in 2020-2021.
• Gross enrolment ratio 
  • It compares the enrolment in a specific level of education to the population of the corresponding age group.
  • The primary section has improved from 101.3% in 2018-2019 to 104.8% in 2021-2022. 
  • For secondary classes, it has risen to 79.6% in 2021-22, from 76.9% in 2018-19
  • For higher secondary level, it has increased from 50.14% to 57.6%.
• Gender Parity Index (GPI) of GER
  • It indicates the representation of girls in school with respect to their population in the corresponding age group.
  • It was also found to be favourable to girls compared to boys. 
•  Decline in pre-primary enrolments
  • A total of 94.95 lakh students entered pre-primary classes in 2021-2022, registering a drop of 10% as compared to the previous year when 1.06 crore children enrolled in these classes.
    • In 2020-2021, there was already a decline of 21% enrolment in pre-primary classes.
• Decline in primary classes Enrolment
  • It includes classes 1 to 5.
  • It also saw a drop for the first time falling from 12.20 lakh in 2020-2021 to 12.18 lakh in 2021-2022.
  • However, the total number of students from primary to higher secondary increased by 19 lakh to 25.57 crore.
• Decline in number of schools
  • The report records a decline in the number of schools due to closures as well as a lack of teachers.
  • There were 20,000 fewer schools in 2021-2022 as the total number of schools dropped from 15.09 lakh to 14.89 lakh.
  • In terms of state-wise break-up, the states where large numbers of schools were shut down in the second pandemic year included Madhya Pradesh (7,689), Odisha (1,894), Andhra Pradesh (1,395), Uttar Pradesh (1143), Punjab (994), and Maharashtra (509). 
• Private schools VS Public schools
  • The UDISE+ report also highlighted that the enrolment in private schools continued to decline while the number of students joining government schools increased. 
    • Private school students continued to join government schools as a result of financial constraints wrought by the pandemic.
• Infrastructure
  • Computer facilities were available in 44.75% of schools, while Internet access was available only in 33.9% of schools.
    • However, their availability has improved as compared to pre-Covid when only 38.5% of schools had computers and 22.3% had Internet facilities.

Significance of the Index

• Optimal education outcomes 
  • PGI is to propel States & UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions that will bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes covering all dimensions.
• Pinpointing the gaps 
  • PGI is expected to help 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.

Source: TH