Performance Grading Index: Telangana PGI 2025–26 Explained

Why in News?

• The Ministry of Education released the Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs and Performance Grading Index for Districts for 2025–26. Telangana’s school education performance improved, with the State placed in the Prachesta-3 band. Telangana scored 599.7 out of 1000 in 2025–26, improving from 552.2 in the previous year. The report evaluates school education on indicators such as learning outcomes, access, infrastructure, equity, governance and teacher training.

What is Performance Grading Index?

• The Performance Grading Index is an evidence-based assessment framework developed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.
• It evaluates the performance of States, Union Territories and districts in school education.
• The index was introduced in 2017 to help governments identify:
• Key strengths in school education
• Gaps in implementation
• Areas requiring policy attention
• Interventions needed for improving learning and governance
• It is aligned with the goals of National Education Policy 2020 and Sustainable Development Goals.

Telangana’s Performance in PGI 2025–26

• Telangana has shown steady improvement in school education performance.

In 2025–26, Telangana was placed in the Prachesta-3 band with a score of 599.7 out of 1000.

Telangana shares the same band with:

• Karnataka
• Andhra Pradesh
• Tamil Nadu

The top performers include:

• Chandigarh
• Delhi
• Kerala
• Punjab
• Maharashtra
• Odisha

This improvement indicates better performance in school education indicators, though the State still has scope to improve further in learning outcomes, governance and infrastructure quality.

PGI-S Framework for States and UTs

• The PGI for States/UTs evaluates school education performance across 70 indicators with a total weightage of 1000 points.

These indicators are grouped under two broad categories:

1. Outcomes

This category measures the actual results achieved in school education.

2. Governance and Management

This category measures the administrative and governance capacity of the education system.

The framework covers six domains:

1. Learning Outcomes and Quality
2. Access
3. Infrastructure and Facilities
4. Equity
5. Governance Processes
6. Teachers’ Education and Training

Weightage in PGI-S

• Equity: 260 marks
• Learning Outcomes and Quality: 240 marks
• Infrastructure and Facilities: 190 marks
• Remaining weightage is distributed across access, governance processes and teacher education/training.

Data Sources

The PGI-S framework uses data from:

• UDISE+
• PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024
• PM POSHAN Portal
• PRABAND Portal
• Vidyanjali Portal

This makes PGI an evidence-based tool for monitoring school education reforms.

PGI-D Framework for Districts

• The Ministry of Education has also extended the PGI exercise to the district level through the Performance Grading Index for Districts.
• The purpose of PGI-D is to assess districts on common parameters and shift attention towards outcome measurement of educational policies.

The PGI-D framework has:

• Total weightage: 600 points
• Indicators: 70
• Categories: 6
• Domains: 11

Six Categories of PGI-D

• Outcomes
• Effective Classroom Transaction
• Infrastructure Facilities and Student Entitlements
• School Safety and Child Protection
• Digital Learning
• Governance Process

Eleven Domains of PGI-D

• Learning Outcomes and Quality
• Access Outcomes
• Teacher Availability and Professional Development Outcomes
• Learning Management
• Learning Enrichment Activities
• Infrastructure, Facilities and Student Entitlements
• School Safety and Child Protection
• Digital Learning
• Funds Convergence and Utilisation
• Attendance Monitoring Systems
• School Leadership Development

Data Sources for PGI-D

PGI-D uses data from:

• UDISE+
• PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024
• PRABANDH Portal

This district-level grading helps governments design localised interventions.

Significance of PGI

Evidence-Based Governance

• PGI helps States and districts identify specific gaps using measurable indicators instead of general assumptions.

NEP 2020 Implementation

• It supports the goals of National Education Policy 2020, especially quality learning, equity, access and governance reforms.

Focus on Learning Outcomes

• By measuring learning outcomes and quality, PGI shifts attention from mere enrolment to actual educational achievement.

District-Level Accountability

• PGI-D enables district-wise comparison and helps identify weak-performing districts for targeted action.

Equity-Oriented Approach

• The high weightage for equity ensures focus on inclusive education for children from disadvantaged sections.

Improved Policy Planning

• PGI supports better planning in infrastructure, teacher training, school safety, digital learning and student entitlements.

Key Policy Takeaways for Telangana

• Telangana’s score improvement from 489.3 in 2022–23 to 599.7 in 2025–26 shows progress in school education governance.

However, to move into higher performance bands, the State should focus on:

• Improving learning outcomes and foundational literacy
• Strengthening teacher training and classroom practices
• Enhancing school infrastructure and facilities
• Improving digital learning access
• Strengthening attendance monitoring systems
• Ensuring equity in education outcomes
• Using PGI-D data for district-level reforms

Telangana can use PGI as a diagnostic tool to move from input-based reforms to outcome-based education governance.

Conclusion

Telangana’s improved performance in PGI 2025–26 reflects progress in school education indicators such as access, infrastructure, equity, governance and teacher training. The rise in score from 489.3 in 2022–23 to 599.7 in 2025–26 indicates a positive trend. However, achieving higher education quality requires deeper reforms in learning outcomes, teacher capacity, digital learning and district-level governance. A strong evidence-based education system will support inclusive development, human capital formation, good governance and Viksit Bharat 2047.