Karnataka has recorded a poor performance in school education for the year 2021-22 in the Performance Grading Index (PGI), an annual survey report which was released by the Union government recently.
The report gives 10 grades, with Daksh being at the top (940 and above out of 1,000 points), and Akanshi-3 at the bottom (up to 460 points). Karnataka achieved Akanshi-1 grade with a score of 549.7, while Chandigarh and Punjab were the top performers. No State or Union Territory achieved the highest grade - Daksh.
Since 2017-18, the Union Ministry of Education has released five annual reports that provide insights on the status of school education in states and Union Territories (UTs). The key domains are Learning Outcomes, Access, Infrastructure and Facilities, Equity, Governance processes, and Teacher Education and Training. Based on these parameters, the Ministry classifies States into 10 grades.
In the first parameter of ‘Learning Outcomes’ - the performance of children in educational activities, including reading and writing, Karnataka achieved Akanshi-1. In ‘Access,’ which includes Net Enrolment Ratio (NER), retention, transition from primary to higher primary level and secondary, and mainstreaming of out-of-school children, the State has performed very well and achieved Atti-Uttam grade.
The third parameter, ‘infrastructure and facility’, encompasses safe infrastructure, including working toilets, clean drinking water, clean and attractive spaces, electricity, computing devices, internet, libraries, sports and recreational resources science lab, computer lab, supply of mid-day meal, availability of uniforms, free textbooks, etc. The state has got Prachesta-3 grade.
The fourth parameter, ‘equity’, considers social justice, equality, inclusive and equitable education for all the students. In this domain, the Karnataka has got Utkarsh grade. For ‘governance process,’ which includes digital attendance of students, teachers, transfer of funds digitally, time taken by State government to release the funds, filling vacancy and transfer of teachers through transparent online system, etc, Karnataka has got Prachesta, while for ‘teacher education and training,’ which includes the quality of teacher education, recruitment, deployment, service conditions, the state has achieved Atti-Uttam grade.
Reacting to the report, V.P. Niranjanaradhya, developmental educationist, said, “Karnataka is among the poor performers in the GPI survey report on school education. The ‘Learning Outcomes’ of the State is very pathetic and it has been achieved only Akanshi-1 grade. The report also shows the poor infrastructure and facilities, shortage of teachers in the State. Therefore, the State government should take necessary action to improve the infrastructure and learning quality in the schools.”
