Meghalaya launches first School Performance Grading Index to assess over 11,400 schools

Meghalaya Education Minister on July 24 launched the Meghalaya School Performance Grading Index (MSPGI) 2025-26), the state's first comprehensive school-level assessment framework covering all 11,443 recognised schools across its 12 districts.

Prepared by the Education Department using certified UDISE+ 2025-26 data, the MSPGI evaluates schools on 43 indicators across five key domains—Accessibility, Digital Education, Infrastructure Facilities, National Education Policy (NEP) activities, and Quality Parameters—with a maximum composite score of 1,000 points.

Each school will receive an individual School Report Card detailing its overall score, performance grade and ranking.

Speaking at the launch, the Education Minister said the MSPGI is intended to serve as a diagnostic and planning tool rather than merely a ranking system. The framework is designed to help school heads, teachers, School Management Committees and education authorities identify institutional strengths, address gaps and improve overall school readiness.

The assessment is based entirely on authenticated UDISE+ data submitted and certified by schools. Schools have been classified into 17 performance grades, ranging from Utkarsh (Outstanding) to Akanshi-10 (Intensive Support), ensuring evaluation against defined benchmarks rather than relative rankings alone.

The Department said the MSPGI has been modelled on the Performance Grading Index (PGI) of the Union Ministry of Education, extending the national assessment framework to the individual school level.

Officials highlighted that Meghalaya has recorded its highest-ever PGI score of 525.71 points in 2025-26, improving from 401.62 in 2022-23 and moving from the Akanshi-3 category to Akanshi-1, marking the state's first exit from the lowest performance band under PGI 2.0.

The Education Department has urged schools to use their report cards to identify priority areas, prepare improvement plans, engage with School Management Committees, and seek support from district and block authorities where required. It clarified that the MSPGI complements existing academic inspections and classroom assessments and is not a standalone measure of students' learning outcomes.

The Minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to evidence-based educational planning, expressing confidence that the new framework will strengthen institutional standards and further improve Meghalaya's performance under the national education index.