Odisha’s Education Rank Improves In Performance Grading Index

New Delhi: After drawing the flak over its dismal performance on sustainable development goals (SDGs) as pointed out by Niti Aayog last week, Odisha had a reason to cheer on the education front.

The state’s ranking saw a slight improvement from Level VI Grade III to Level IV Grade I said the Performance Grading Index (PGI) for 2019-20 for States and Union Territories (UTs) released by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Sunday.

Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Kerala are in the highest grade of A++.

PGI is designed to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education. Most of the states and UTs have improved their grades in PGI 2019-20 compared to the earlier years, the ministry said in a statement.

Odisha has secured 838 points for the 2019-2020 academic year as gainst 749 points in 2018-19. It ranks 14 among the states and UTs, a rise in 5 positions since the last academic session.

The state has improved its scores in the ‘Infrastructure and Facilities’ domain by 20 per cent or more, and more than 10 per cent in the ‘Equity’ domain, the Education Ministry said.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have improved their overall PGI scores by 10 per cent, the Education Ministry said. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Punjab have shown improvement of 10 per cent or more in the ‘Access’ domain, it said.

“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,” Pokhriyal added.

Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20