Chandigarh slips to second position in 2019-2020 Performance Grade Index - Hindustan Times
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Chandigarh slips to second position in 2019-2020 Performance Grade Index

ByRajanbir Singh, Chandigarh
Jun 07, 2021 01:01 AM IST

City has scored 912 out of a possible 1,000 across five major domains, an improvement from 887 in 2018-19

After coming in first for two consecutive years, Chandigarh has slipped to the second position, behind Punjab, in the Performance Grade Index (PGI) rankings for 2019-20 released by the Union ministry of education on Sunday.

Former vice-chancellor of Panjab University Arun Kumar Grover said that the city’s government schools needed to be improved so that more residents would send their kids there. (HT FILE PHOTO)
Former vice-chancellor of Panjab University Arun Kumar Grover said that the city’s government schools needed to be improved so that more residents would send their kids there. (HT FILE PHOTO)

As per the report, Chandigarh has scored 912 out of a possible 1,000 across five major domains with 70 parameters in total.

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The city has scored 160 out of 180 in “learning outcomes”, which deals with the scores of students in language and mathematics in Classes 3, 5 and 8 of government and aided schools. This is the only category in which Chandigarh is placed first, having been beaten by Punjab in the other four.

Chandigarh has scored 77 out of 80 for “access”, which is related to net enrolment ratio, retention rate of students and transition rate from the lower to the higher classes.

In “infrastructure and facilities”, Chandigarh has scored 147 out of 150. The parameter includes infrastructure in schools to enable adequate facilities for teaching and learning like functional toilets, availability of clean drinking water, science and computer laboratories.

In “equity”, Chandigarh has scored 223 out of 230, which is based on comparative performance of learning outcomes of various categories of students (general category as compared to the other categories) and it also covers children with special needs.

Chandigarh slips to second position in 2019-2020 Performance Grade Index
Chandigarh slips to second position in 2019-2020 Performance Grade Index

Chandigarh scored 305 out of 360 for “governance processes”, which covers management and administration of school education. The gap between Chandigarh and Punjab was highest here with Punjab scoring 346.

Lowest score-wise improvement from 2018-19

While Chandigarh was able to improve its score from 887 in 2018-19 to 912, this is the lowest score-wise improvement out of the other states and UTs that are placed in the first ten positions. An improvement of 76 points from the score published in 2019 to this year’s is also the lowest among the top ten.

Speaking about this, former education secretary of Chandigarh BL Sharma said, “To continue to improve the score, the various domains of the rankings need to be studied and the system improved on those lines. School principals are especially important and they must adopt a leadership role and facilitate the teachers. The department must ensure that teachers can teach and students can learn without any distractions, which will solve most problems.”

Former vice-chancellor of Panjab University Arun Kumar Grover added, “Chandigarh needs a committed bureaucracy. One of the reasons why Punjab has fared so well is because of the efforts of Punjab education Secretary Krishan Kumar. Officers here must treat education as something more than a department assigned to them.” Grover added that the city’s government schools also needed to be improved so more residents would send their kids there.

Meanwhile, UT education secretary SS Gill said, “Chandigarh has performed really well, even in the recently released Sustainable Development Goals Index report by Niti Aayog. Rather than rote learning we want children to develop an analytical mind. This is why Chandigarh was chosen for Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and why Chandigarh education department is directly being represented at CBSE’s panel for developing the criteria to mark Class 12 children. We improved our score compared to last year and we will continue to improve.”

The Performance Grade Index for states and union territories was first published in 2019 with reference to the year 2017-18. As per the ministry of education, the index would propel states and UTs, bringing about optimal education outcomes by helping them pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.

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