Lok Sabha Question No. 220 (STARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: Performance Grading Index
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Md. Rakibul Hussain

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 220 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025

## Performance Grading Index

| * 220. MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN:                                                                                                                                 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:                                                                                                         |
| (a) whether the Government is aware that Assam was placed in the second-lowest category of the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 conducted in FY 2024-25; |
| (b) the details of the key factors that contributed to Assam's poor performance;                                                                            |
| (c) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the severe shortage of school teachers in                                                                |
| Assam and its impact on learning outcomes and retention; and                                                                                                |
| (d) if so, the steps taken by the Government to address these structural gaps and improve performance of Assam in future PGI assessments?                   |
| ANSWER                                                                                                                                                      |
| MINISTER OF EDUCATION                                                                                                                                       |
| (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)                                                                                                                                   |
| is laid on the table of the House.                                                                                                                          |
| to (d): A statement                                                                                                                                         |
| (a)                                                                                                                                                         |

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (D) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 220 ANSWERED ON 04/08/2025 ASKED BY HONB'LE MP MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN REGARDING 'PERFORMANCE GRADING INDEX'.

(a) & (b): The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education has prepared 73-indicator based Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs to measure key driving performance and critical areas of school education at State/UT level. The domain-wise performance of the States/UTs including Assam in PGI 2.0 combined report for the year 202223 & 2023-24 can be accessed at https://spgi.udiseplus.gov.in.

Further, Assam has attained Akanshi-2 grade in PGI 2.0 for the year 2023-24. It is noteworthy that the State's overall score improved from 498.8 in 2022-23 to 511.5 in 2023-24, reflecting consistent progress and growth across key domains.

(c) & (d): As per Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the Pupil-Teacher  Ratio  (PTR)  Norms  for  Primary  and  upper  primary  level  are  30:1  and  35:1 respectively. Also, National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, in para 2.4, inter alia states that 'A pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) of under 30:1 will be ensured at the level of each school; areas having large number of socio-economically disadvantaged students will aim for a PTR of under 25:1.'

The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  (DoSEL),  Ministry  of  Education  has developed  the  Unified  District  Information  System  for  Education  Plus  (UDISE+)  system  to record data on indicators of school education provided by all the States and Union Territories. As per UDISE+ 2023-24, PTR by level of education in the state of Assam is as under:

| State   | Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) by level of education   | Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) by level of education   | Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) by level of education   | Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) by level of education   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
|         | Primary                                           | Upper Primary                                     | Secondary                                         | Higher Secondary                                  |
| Assam   | 19                                                | 13                                                | 11                                                | 18                                                |

The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  with  effect  from  2018-19  is implementing  an  Integrated  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  School  Education-  Samagra Shiksha. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for undertaking various activities, including opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms, setting up, up-gradation and running of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas,  setting  up  of  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya Vidyalayas, Construction of hostels under PM-JANMAN, construction of hostels under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan for unsaturated ST population, free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance and undertaking enrolment & retention drives.

Under 'Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman' (PM POSHAN) one hot cooked meal in Government and Government aided schools is provided to students at the elementary level of education, including Balvatika.

Also, under PM SHRI scheme, 382 PM SHRI schools from the State of Assam have been selected for upgradation to showcase all the components of the National Education Policy 2020. These schools focus on cognitive development and creating holistic and well- rounded individuals equipped with key 21st century skills. The scheme focuses on creating an equitable, inclusive,  and  joyful  learning  environment  that  caters  to  diverse  backgrounds,  multilingual needs, and varied academic abilities. These schools are designed to engage students actively in their learning process, ensuring that every child feels welcomed, cared for, and supported in a safe and stimulating environment.

Further, State Government of Assam has taken up various initiatives and focused interventions to address systemic gaps and further strengthen State's educational performance. Some of the major initiatives include the following-

-  Under a structured NEP 2020-aligned initiative, trainings have been imparted to more than 1.35 lakh teachers in the year 2024-25, including 1.29 lakh teachers, who were trained, particularly on FLN, pedagogy, phonics, calligraphy and TLM use. Similarly, subject-specific training was imparted  to  secondary  teachers  also,  in  collaboration  with  institutions  like  IIT  Guwahati, Gauhati  University,  Tezpur  University,  and  NIT  Silchar-marking  one  of  the  state's  largest teacher development efforts.
-  Assam has operationalised 'Shiksha Setu Axom', a state-of-the-art digital platform for real-time education governance. It enables automated tracking of key school-level indicators, including student and teacher attendance, infrastructure status etc.
-  To close learning gaps in Grades 3-5, Assam is implementing 'Teaching at Right Level (TaRL)' initiative, shifting from grade-based to learning-level-based teaching.
-  Assam adopted a multi-tiered FLN strategy with SPMU and DPMUs for local implementation. Aligned  with  NCF-FS,  textbooks  and  workbooks  were  developed,  and  students  received  16 numeracy  TLMs.  Schools  got  12  additional  TLMs  and  literacy  kits  with  big  books,  charts, flashcards, and activity books to strengthen instruction.
-  Govt.  of  Assam  has  expanded  digital  learning  through  ICT  Labs,  Smart  Classes,  and  TeleEducation  facilities  in  government  schools.  E-content  for  Classes  I-XII  across  Smart  Classenabled schools have been developed and disseminated. Through a partnership with 'Mission Gyan' and the 'e-Kaksha App', content is made accessible at school levels. Live 2D/3D  teleclasses in regional languages are broadcast to schools through Tele-Classroom infrastructure.

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