Barnala district has emerged as the top performer among Punjab districts in the Union Ministry of Education’s Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2025-26, securing an overall score of 462 and the Uttam-2 grade. The index evaluates 784 districts across India on six key categories: Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transactions, Infrastructure & Student Entitlements, School Safety and Child Protection, Digital Learning, and Governance Processes.
Punjab ranks among top states
According to the report, Punjab has been placed in the second-highest performance band I (Prachesta-1), making it one of the top-performing states nationally. Punjab is tied for second place alongside Delhi, Kerala, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli/Daman & Diu, with Chandigarh leading overall. Officials noted that Uttam-2 and Prachesta-1 are performance categories used in the PGI framework.
Top-performing districts in Punjab
Several Punjab districts featured in higher grades, including Barnala, Muktsar Sahib, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur, and Sangrur. Other notable districts include Gurdaspur, Mansa, Pathankot, and Ludhiana. Many districts achieved Uttam-3 grades, reflecting solid improvements in learning outcomes, teacher availability, and governance.
Strengths and areas for improvement
Punjab districts performed well in the Effective Classroom Transactions and Governance Processes categories, with several recording high scores in teacher training, attendance monitoring, and fund utilisation. However, there remains scope for improvement in areas like digital learning and certain infrastructure indicators.
Officials in the Education Department stated that Punjab’s performance aligns with a positive national trend, particularly in outcome-focused domains such as learning proficiency in core subjects (language, mathematics, science, and social science) measured through PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan.
