COIMBATORE: Despite having done well in terms of access to school education, Tamil Nadu has been categorised in Grade II of Ministry of Human Resource Development’s school education performance grading index. States like Gujarat and Kerala have made it to Grade I.
The Department of School Education and Literacy has designed the performance grading index (PGI) to help states and union territories to pinpoint the gap and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level. Instead of ranking, the evaluation will grade states into different groups.
PGI is structured in two categories – outcomes, and governance and management – comprising 70 indicators in aggregate with a total weightage of 1,000 points. No state was ranked in the top three grades of level I (951-1000), level II (900-950) and level III (851-900). While Chandigarh, Gujarat and Kerala were grouped under grade I (801-850), Dadra Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu were grouped under grade II (751-800). Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattishgarh, Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttrakhand came under grade III (701-750).
Tamil Nadu topped the performance chart in terms of access, securing second place in equity, fifth place in infrastructure and facilities, sixth place in terms of governance processes. It was in learning outcome and quality that the State fell behind, securing 19th position among the 36 states and union territories. Percentage of schools having functional drinking water facility is very high in Tamil Nadu, the report added.
The size of the State does not appear to be a determining factor. The effect of population on the performance is inconclusive, said the report.
HRD Ministry is planning to introduce a performance based grant to states and union territories based on the PGI. Commenting on this, State Platform for Common School System General Secretary P B Prince Gajendra Babu said that funding for education in a welfare State cannot be based on output method.