PERFORMANCE GRADING INDEX FOR DISTRICTS

 

Latest Context

Recently, the Ministry of Education (MoE) released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for the year 2020-21 to 2021-22 for assessing the performance of the school education system at the district level.

Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D)

• Concept: PIG-D is the medium through which the performance of the school education system at the district level is assessed by creating an index for comprehensive analysis.
• On the basis of the data collected from various sources, including the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE +), National Achievement Survey (NAS), 2017 and data provided by respective districts, the performance in school education at the district level is determined.
• MoE has issued five annual reports which offer insights on the status of school education in States and UTs since 2017-18.

Grades: Under this report, there are 10 grades under which districts are categorized

• Daksh: Highest grade (above 90%)
• Utkarsh: 81%-90%
• Ati-Uttam: 71%-80%
• Uttam: 61%-70%
• Prachesta-1: 51%-60%
• Prachesta-2: 41%-50%
• Prachesta-3: 31%-40%
• Akanshi-1: 21% to 30%
• Akanshi-2: 11% to 20%
• Akanshi-3: Lowest (less than 10%)

Indicators: The structure of PGI-D contains a total weightage of 600 points across 83 indicators that are divided into six categories viz., Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities Student’s Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning and Governance Process.

Significance

• It will support the state education departments in identifying gaps at the district level and improving performance in a decentralized manner.
• Districts can work towards reaching the highest grade and enhancing overall education quality by prioritizing areas for intervention.

Main Points of the Report

•  Pandemic Effect on District Performance:

• Not even a single district was able to come on the top two grades (Daksh and Utkarsh).
• Total number of Ati-Uttam districts are declined significantly from 121 in 2020-21 to 51 in 2021-22 which exhibits the effect of the pandemic on educational performance.
• Many districts of different states were categorized as Ati-Uttam in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, comprising Krishna and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli, districts in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha etc.

• Changes in Grades

• In 2021-22, the total number of Prachesta-2 (sixth-highest grade) districts increased from 86 in 2020-21 to 117.
• Due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, it suggests that more districts faced challenges in maintaining their performance.

 

PGI 2.0

• Concept: It is a comprehensive assessment tool devised by the MoE in order to evaluate the performance of the school education system at the State/UT level. It determines the performance of a school on the basis of various indicators and creates an index for comprehensive analysis. It was first issued for the year 2017-18 and has been updated up to the year 2020-21.
• Revised Structure: In the year 2021-22, the PGI was revised and renamed as PGI 2.0. Now it comprises 73 indicators grouped into two categories:

• Outcomes and Governance Management (GM). It lays emphasis on qualitative assessment, digital initiatives, and teacher education.

• Categories and Domains: It is grouped into six domains namely Learning Outcomes (LO), Access (A), Infrastructure and Facilities (IF), Equity (E), Governance Process (GP), and Teachers’ Education and Training (TE&T). Various aspects of the education system come under these domains.
• Grading System: On the basis of the points scored across the indicators, States and Union Territories are assigned grades.

• Daksh (941-1000) is the highest and Akanshi-3 (401-460) is the lowest.

• Findings

• In the latest edition, no States/UTs achieved the top grades.
• There are only two states/UTs, namely Punjab and Chandigarh have attained Grade Prachesta -2 (score 641-700).
• Andhra Pradesh has secured Grade 8 (Category: Akankshi-1) in PGI 2.0.
• Starting from no grade in 2017-18 to attaining Level II with a score of 901, Andhra Pradesh has made significant progress in its grades over the years.

Other Initiatives of the Government

• National Education Policy, 2020
• Samagra Shiksha
• Mid-Day Meal Scheme
• Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship Scheme and Eklavya Model School
• National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning.
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
• PRAGYATA
• Mid-Day Meal Scheme
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
• PM SHRI Schools

 

 

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