Journalism of Courage
Top 10 educated states in India 2026: Chandigarh at the top, Kerala at No. 2
State wise education ranking in India 2026: Puducherry ranked third, followed by Goa at fourth and Delhi at fifth in the School Education Development Index.
Chandigarh secures top position in SEDI (2025-26). (photo credit: wikimedia commons)
Top 10 Educated States in India 2026: Chandigarh and Kerala have retained the top two positions in the School Education Development Index (SEDI) 2025-26, with Chandigarh recording the highest overall score among states and Union Territories.
Puducherry ranked third, followed by Goa in fourth and Delhi in fifth. Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Lakshadweep ranked ninth and Haryana rounded out the top 10.
The SEDI framework assesses school education across five domains — access, participation, retention, quality and infrastructure — covering factors such as school availability, enrolment and equity, student retention, learning outcomes, and school facilities.
In the overall SEDI standings, Chandigarh (0.826) and Kerala (0.798) hold the first and second ranks in 2025-26, repeating their 2024-25 performance.
The top 10 ranking remains largely unchanged, with Tamil Nadu (+0.018, maintaining 7th place) and Goa (+0.005, climbing to 4th place) recording the biggest gains among the highest-rated states.
Goa climbed to fourth place with a score increase of 0.005, while Tamil Nadu retained seventh place after improving its score by 0.018.
Participation recorded the lowest average score among the five domains, at 0.487, indicating continued challenges around enrolment, equity and grade-level transitions.
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Infrastructure had the highest average score (0.748) but also the widest regional gap, ranging from 0.982 in Chandigarh to 0.159 in Meghalaya.
Top 10 Educated States in India 2026
| Rank | State |
| 1 | Chandigarh |
| 2 | Kerala |
| 3 | Puducherry |
| 4 | Goa |
| 5 | Delhi |
| 6 | Punjab |
| 7 | Tamil Nadu |
| 8 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| 9 | Lakshadweep |
| 10 | Haryana |
Source: School Education Development Index (SEDI) 2025-26
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