Srinagar, June 9: Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been placed in 5th level Grade-II category of Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 of the education sector approved by the Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal.
The PGI was introduced by the Department of Education and Literacy with a set of 70 parameters to bring about a change in school education in states and union territories across India. In a 26-page document, J&K has been placed in the 5th level with a score of 751-800 points out of 1000 points.
As per the official document, PGI 2019-20 of states and UTs is the third publication in this series which envisages that the index would propel states and UTs towards undertaking multi-pronged interventions that would bring about the much-desired optimal education outcomes.
“The PGI helps the states and UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level,” the document reads.
The ranking and scores have been awarded on the basis of the learning outcomes showcased by the students as depicted in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and availability of facilities in schools for the students.
The PGI has given the score to J&K on the basis of the percentage of elementary schools which had displayed class-wise learning outcomes of the students in all the subjects.
Retention rate of students at primary level, elementary and secondary level was another indicator on the basis of which J&K scored 750-800 points out of 1000 points. The success rate of the government in identifying the Out-of-School-Children and the number of students mainstreamed in last completed academic year had also been accessed for PGI ranking of education sector of the states and UTs.
The government has also accessed the availability of facilities including CAL centres, laboratories, integrated science laboratory and computer laboratory in schools.
The PGI score has been given on the basis of the availability of functional drinking water facilities besides toilet facilities for boys and girls including separate toilet facilities for children with special needs.
The PGI initiated by the GoI has resulted in significant improvement in accessibility.
“As a logical next step, the focus has now shifted from access to quality of education. The PGI has been designed to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education,” the document reads.
In the present PGI, the updating of these data and vetting has been carried out by the concerned states and UTs at different levels including school, district and state or UT level using the online portals of Shagun, UDISE and Mid-Day Meal (MDM).
In the statements and Charts of PGI 2019-20, J&K and Ladakh have been shown separately.
Moreover, the data for Ladakh has been compiled for the first time as a separate union territory.
“Its scores and grades for the earlier reference years for computing PGI are not available,” the document reads.