Punjab has once again emerged as the top-performing state among all states and Union Territories in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for school education for 2024-25, released by the Union Ministry of Education.
However, despite leading the rankings, Punjab has been placed only in the ‘Prachesta-1’ category — the fifth-highest grade — as no state or UT could achieve any of the top four grades (Utkarsh, Uttam-1, Uttam-2 and Uttam-3).
Punjab has been ranked above Delhi, Kerala and neighbouring states Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
For 2024-25, Punjab and Chandigarh have been placed in the ‘Prachesta-1’ category, which corresponds to scores between 701 and 760, translating into 51-60 per cent performance.
The report explicitly states that Prachesta-1 is not the highest achievable grade. The grading system has Utkarsh (91-100 per cent) at the top, followed by Uttam-1 (81-90 per cent), Uttam-2 (71-80 per cent) and Uttam-3 (61-70 per cent). The lowest three grades are Akanshi-1, Akanshi-2 and Akanshi-3.
“None of the states/UTs have achieved the top four grades, indicating there is huge scope for improvement in the performance of states/UTs,” the report stated.
Only Chandigarh and Punjab have attained the Prachesta-1 grade. Six states/UTs have been placed in Prachesta-2 and nine in Prachesta-3.
The UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, along with Kerala, Delhi, Odisha, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, have been placed in Prachesta-2. They are followed by Haryana, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu in the subsequent grades.
Meghalaya was the only state placed in the lowest grade, Akanshi-3.
Punjab has consistently remained among the top performers in the PGI rankings since 2019-20, when it topped the index for the first time. It retained the top position in 2020-21 and has continued to remain among the leading performers under the revamped PGI framework from 2021-22 to 2023-24, along with Chandigarh.
The PGI 2.0 assesses states and UTs on 73 indicators grouped under six domains — learning outcomes, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity, governance and management, and digital initiatives — with the aim of improving the quality of school education.
