Punjab’s Barnala emerges best-performing district in education index; no district makes it to top two grades

Barnala district in Punjab has emerged as the top performer in the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) 2023-24, released by the education ministry, making it the only district in the country to attain the highest grade among all states and union territories. Barnala is placed in the Uttam 2 category after securing 424 out of 600 points, falling in the 71–80 per cent score bracket.

No district secured a place in the top two grades, including Utkarsh above 90 per cent and Uttam 1 between 81 and 90 per cent, in either 2022-23 or 2023-24. Uttam-2 category is followed by Uttam-3 with a score between 61 per cent and 70 per cent.

According to PGI-D data for 2023-24, a total of 40 districts have been placed in the Uttam 3 category. These include districts from Chandigarh, Delhi, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan and more. In 2023-24, the education ministry assesses 788 districts, including 20 new ones.

Rise in Prachesta-1 districts

Of these, 281 districts fall in the Prachesta-1 grade, with scores between 51 and 60 per cent, an increase from 204 districts in the previous cycle. Prachesta-2, with scores between 41 and 50 per cent, includes 355 districts, while 110 districts are placed in Prachesta-3, scoring between 31 and 40 per cent.

One district is placed in the Akanshi-1 group, scoring between 21 and 30 per cent. No district falls into the Akanshi-2 or Akanshi-3 categories, which cover scores from 11 to 20 per cent and up to 10 per cent, respectively.

20 new districts added in 2023-24

The 20 newly added districts in 2023-24 include three in Delhi—formed after the bifurcation of North-East, North-West B and South West B districts—and 17 in Rajasthan, such as Anoopgarh, Beawar, Jaipur (Rural) and Shahpura, among others. These districts are assessed for the first time in PGI-D 2023-24. Two fall under the Uttam 3 category, 14 under Prachesta-2, and four under Prachesta-3.

Out of 788 districts, 377 improved their PGI scores over the previous year. Among these, 273 districts showed improvement in grade level, reflecting better performance across various parameters. However, 452 districts remained in the same grade in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, while 43 districts saw a decline by one grade level.

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Performance Grading Index: Six key assessment categories

The PGI-D carries a total weightage of 600 points across 74 indicators grouped into six categories: outcomes, effective classroom transaction, infrastructure and student entitlements, school safety and child protection, digital learning, and governance process. It helps districts use data to identify gaps, plan interventions, and improve learning outcomes through regular monitoring.

Punjab and Chandigarh had emerged as the top-performing state and union territory, respectively, in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2021-22. In the previous edition for 2020-21, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were the three new entrants among the highest-ranking states in education. The PGI for states and UTs was first introduced in 2017-18.