Despite pandemic impact, Maharashtra tops school education performance index

There are five parameters on which performances are graded - learning outcome, access, equity, infrastructure facilities and governance process.

Performance Grading Index, Maharashtra PMI, Covid pandemic, mumbai school education performance index, Mumbai news, Maharashtra, Indian Express, current affairs

The Education Ministry on Thursday released the latest edition of the Performance Grading Index, which is a new index that measures the performance of states and union territories on a uniform scale to analyse the transformational change in the field of school education.

Maharashtra has been ranked first, along with Punjab and Kerala, in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) report for the academic year 2020-21. The state has a total score of 928/1000, elevating it to the top position from the eighth rank it had last year.

There are five parameters on which performances are graded – learning outcome, access, equity, infrastructure facilities and governance process.

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The PGI report is generated through existing Management Information System platforms such as Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), National Achievement Survey (NAS) and Mid Day Meal (MDM), from where information is gathered.

Even as the pandemic has adversely impacted education sector, the PGI report card of Maharashtra has shown improvement. “As per the report, Maharashtra has shown considerable improvement in domains such as infrastructure facilities and governance processes. In domains such as learning outcome and access, Maharashtra has retained performance levels from last year,” said an official from the state School Education department.

As the name suggests, the infrastructure facilities domain includes measures such as providing safe infrastructure, working toilets, clean drinking water, clean and attractive spaces, electricity, computing devices, internet, libraries, and sports and recreational resources, among others.

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Maharashtra’s score in the domain has jumped to 143/150 this year from 126/150 in the year 2019-20. Indicators

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like availability of digital facilities, timely availability of textbooks and uniforms — which are critical inputs for better performance of students — are also measured in this domain.

In the governance process domain, which aims to capture the performance of all states/UTs through indicators such as making use of IT instead of human interface, Maharashtra’s score has jumped to 340/360 from only 299/360 last year. This includes digital attendance of students, teachers, transfer of funds digitally, time taken by the state government to release the funds, filling vacancies and transfer of teachers through transparent online systems.

Pallavi Smart

Pallavi Smart is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai Bureau. Her reporting is singularly focused on the education sector, demonstrating exceptional Expertise and Authority across the entire spectrum of learning, from foundational schooling to advanced higher education. She is a highly Trustworthy source for policy, institutional developments, and systemic issues affecting students, teachers, and parents in Maharashtra. Expertise Senior Role: As a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express, her designation reflects her seniority, specialized knowledge, and the editorial rigor applied to her reporting. Core Authority & Specialization: Pallavi Smart is the definitive voice for Education news in the region. Her coverage scope is comprehensive: Policy and Regulatory Changes: Reports on major shifts in educational policy, including the restructuring of entrance exams (e.g., MHT-CET adopting the JEE Main model), the draft regulatory framework for coaching classes, and revised teacher recruitment processes. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): Provides in-depth reporting on prestigious institutes like IIT Bombay and TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences), covering institutional initiatives, administrative debates (e.g., renaming IIT Bombay), and student welfare programs (e.g., mandatory mental health courses). Teachers and Eligibility: Covers crucial issues affecting the teaching fraternity, such as the mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for in-service teachers and related controversies and application numbers. Student Welfare & Rights: Focuses on issues concerning students, including the rollout of government scholarships, the financial strain on schools due to midday meal reimbursement delays, and instances of child rights violations (e.g., the Powai studio hostage crisis). Admissions and Vacancy: Tracks the outcome of centralized admission processes (e.g., MBBS, BPharm) and analyzes vacancy concerns, providing essential data-driven insights for parents and students. Credentials & Trustworthiness Dedicated Beat: Her consistent focus on the "KG to PG" education beat allows her to develop unparalleled subject matter knowledge, ensuring her reports are accurate, detailed, and contextualized. Proactive Reporting: Her articles frequently break news on policy and institutional planning, providing the public with timely, essential information about a sector that directly impacts millions of families. She tweets @Pallavi_Smart ... Read More