Key Details
The Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for States/UTs evaluates school education performance across 70 indicators and a 1,000-point framework, measuring learning outcomes, access, equity, governance, infrastructure and teacher development. While Chandigarh emerged as the highest-performing State/UT and Meghalaya recorded the lowest score, the report’s larger finding is that the gap between the best and worst performers has narrowed substantially, even though no State or UT reached the top three performance grades.
Area | 2025–26 Findings | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
Overall performance | No State/UT achieved Utkarsh, Uttam-1 or Uttam-2 | Indicates continued challenges despite broad improvements. |
Highest performer | Chandigarh (766 points; Uttam-3) | Highest overall score nationally. |
Interstate disparities | Gap between highest and lowest scores narrowed from 51% (2017–18) to 31.4% (2025–26) | Suggests more balanced progress across States and UTs. |
Learning outcomes | Only Punjab reached Uttam-3 | Learning quality remains the weakest domain. |
Access | Kerala and Puducherry achieved Utkarsh | Near-universal access and participation are becoming achievable. |
Teacher education | Kerala and Lakshadweep achieved Utkarsh | Highlights stronger investment in teacher quality. |
School Performance Improves, but Learning Outcomes Continue to Hold States Back
The Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for States and Union Territories indicates that school education performance continues to improve across India, with all States and UTs now scoring above 50% for the first time. At the same time, the gap between the highest- and lowest-performing jurisdictions has narrowed from 51% in 2017–18 to 31.4% in 2025–26, suggesting that educational disparities are gradually reducing.
Despite this progress, no State or Union Territory achieved the highest three overall grades—Utkarsh, Uttam-1 or Uttam-2. Chandigarh, with 766 points, was the only jurisdiction placed in Uttam-3, indicating that while performance has become more even nationally, consistently high-quality school systems remain elusive.
Access and Equity Improve Faster Than Learning Quality
The report shows that States and UTs perform much better on school access, equity and teacher development than on learning outcomes and infrastructure.
Kerala and Puducherry achieved the highest grade in Access, reflecting strong enrolment, retention and participation across school education. Chandigarh, Delhi and Tamil Nadu reached Utkarsh in Equity, indicating relatively strong performance in reducing gender and social disparities. Kerala and Lakshadweep similarly achieved the highest grade in Teacher Education and Training, reflecting sustained investments in teacher capacity.
In contrast, Learning Outcomes emerged as the weakest domain. Only Punjab reached Uttam-3, while every other State and UT remained in lower performance bands, indicating that improvements in enrolment and infrastructure have not yet translated into comparable gains in student learning.
Integrated Data Is Driving More Evidence-Based Education Governance
PGI 2.0 draws on data from UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, the PM POSHAN Portal, PRABANDH and the Vidyanjali Portal to evaluate educational performance across 70 indicators.
By integrating measures of learning outcomes, access, infrastructure, equity, governance and teacher development, the framework provides governments with a multidimensional assessment of school education aligned with NEP 2020. Rather than ranking States against one another, PGI uses performance grades based on common benchmarks, enabling governments to identify weaknesses, prioritise reforms and monitor progress over time.
What is PGI 2.0?
The Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 is the Ministry of Education’s performance assessment framework for evaluating school education across States and Union Territories. Instead of ranking jurisdictions, it assigns performance grades based on predefined benchmarks across learning outcomes, governance, infrastructure, equity, access and teacher development. This approach encourages continuous improvement while helping governments identify priority areas for policy intervention.
Policy Relevance
No State or UT reached the highest three overall grades, suggesting that improvements in enrolment and access must now be matched by sustained gains in learning quality and institutional performance.
Narrowing interstate disparities indicate that lower-performing States are gradually catching up, highlighting the value of continuous performance monitoring and targeted policy interventions.
Strong performance in Access and Equity contrasts with weaker Learning Outcomes, underscoring the need to shift policy attention from school participation towards improving foundational learning and educational quality.
The integration of UDISE+, PARAKH, PM POSHAN, PRABANDH and Vidyanjali strengthens evidence-based governance by enabling interoperable education datasets and more comprehensive assessment of school systems.
Benchmark-based grading shifts the focus from competition to continuous improvement, providing governments with a practical diagnostic tool for planning reforms, allocating resources and monitoring NEP 2020 implementation.
Follow the Full Report Here: Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for Districts 2025–26