Launches School Performance Grading Index for 2025-26

Shillong, India Jul 24, 2026 ALN: Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Friday (July 24) released the School Performance Grading Index (MSPGI) for 2025-26.

Addressing a press conference, Rymbui stated that the MSPGI, prepared by the Education Department using certified UDISE+ 2025-26 data, serves as a school-level assessment framework. It evaluates all 11,443 recognized schools across the state’s 12 districts against 43 indicators spread over five domains: Accessibility, Digital Education, Infrastructure Facilities, NEP Activities, and Quality Parameters, with a maximum composite score of 1,000 points. Each school assessed under the framework receives an individual School Report Card indicating its score, performance grade, and ranking position.

Purpose and Intent: Speaking on the occasion, the minister emphasized that the MSPGI is designed not as a ranking exercise but as a diagnostic and planning tool. It aims to help schools understand their institutional strengths and areas needing attention. The index is intended to create a common, transparent language for school heads, teachers, school management committees, block and district authorities, and state-level planners to engage in constructive discussions on school readiness and direct support where it is most needed.

The emphasis on transparency and constructive dialogue is critical in the context of educational reform. By providing a standardized measure of performance, the MSPGI allows for a more focused approach to addressing the unique challenges faced by individual schools. This is particularly important in a diverse state like , where geographical, cultural, and socio-economic factors can significantly impact educational outcomes.

Methodology: Scores are generated from UDISE+ 2025-26 data filled, finalized, and certified by the schools themselves, ensuring that the assessment relies on authenticated, verifiable information rather than subjective evaluation. Binary indicators are scored as full weightage for compliance and zero otherwise, while percentage-based indicators are scored proportionately. If an indicator does not apply to a particular school category, its weight is redistributed proportionately among the applicable indicators to maintain fairness across school types. Schools are categorized into one of 17 performance grades, ranging from Utkarsh (Outstanding) at the highest level to Akanshi-10 (Intensive Support) at the level requiring the most intensive support, allowing schools to be assessed against absolute standards rather than only against one another.

This methodology not only enhances the reliability of the assessment but also ensures that schools are evaluated in a manner that is relevant to their specific contexts. The redistribution of weights for non-applicable indicators is particularly noteworthy as it addresses the concerns of equity in the evaluation process, ensuring that schools with different resources and challenges are not unfairly penalized.

Link to the National PGI: The MSPGI has been modeled on the Performance Grading Index (PGI) administered by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, which assesses States and Union Territories on similar dimensions of access, infrastructure, equity, governance, and teacher-related parameters. While the national PGI presents a state-level picture, the MSPGI extends the same principle down to the individual school level, translating State priorities into actionable indicators. Improvements recorded at the school level under the MSPGI — in areas such as infrastructure, digital readiness, NEP-aligned activities, and quality-related enabling conditions — directly influence the parameters on which the State’s own PGI performance is assessed.

The Department noted that the state’s PGI score has already improved from 401.62 in 2022-23 to 525.71 in 2025-26, moving the State from the Akanshi-3 category to Akanshi-1 — the first time it has moved out of the lowest performance band under PGI 2.0. The MSPGI is expected to sustain and accelerate this trajectory by embedding the same priorities at the school level. This upward trend in the PGI score reflects the state’s commitment to improving educational standards and outcomes, which is crucial for fostering a skilled and knowledgeable workforce.

What Schools Are Expected to Do: The department has urged all schools to treat their individual report cards as the starting point of a simple improvement cycle: review the results, discuss them with teachers and the School Management Committee, identify priority gaps, plan feasible actions, seek support from Block and District authorities where required, and track progress in the next assessment cycle. Schools recording higher grades are encouraged to serve as reference institutions for peer learning, while District and Block authorities have been asked to use the consolidated results to identify schools and areas requiring facilitation, convergence, or administrative support.

This proactive approach encourages a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration among schools. By fostering peer learning, schools can share best practices and strategies that have proven effective in enhancing educational outcomes. Moreover, the involvement of Block and District authorities in facilitating support underscores the importance of a coordinated approach to educational improvement, ensuring that resources are allocated where they are most needed.

The Department clarified that the MSPGI complements, and does not replace, academic inspections, classroom observation, and other ongoing assessments, and that the score should not be interpreted as a stand-alone measure of children’s learning achievement. This clarification is vital in preventing the misinterpretation of the MSPGI as a singular indicator of educational success, highlighting the multifaceted nature of learning assessments.

The minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to evidence-based planning and continuous improvement in school education, expressing confidence that the MSPGI, used alongside existing academic and administrative processes, will help schools across the state progressively meet approved institutional standards and further strengthen the state’s performance under the national PGI in the years ahead. This commitment to evidence-based planning is essential for ensuring that educational policies are informed by data and that resources are invested effectively to achieve desired outcomes.

In conclusion, the launch of the MSPGI represents a significant step towards enhancing the quality of education in . By providing a structured framework for assessing school performance, the index aims to promote accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement within the education system. As schools engage with the MSPGI, they will not only be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses but also work collaboratively towards achieving higher educational standards, ultimately benefiting students across the state.