Shillong, July 8: The state government has achieved progress in school education by moving out of the lowest grade in the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for the first time since the framework was introduced by the Union Ministry of Education.
According to the PGI 2.0 Report for 2025–26, released by the Ministry of Education, Meghalaya has improved its overall score from 448 in 2024-25 to 525.71 in 2025-26, thereby moving from Akanshi-3 to Akanshi-1, a jump of two grades in a single year.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday (July 8), Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said this marks the first occasion that Meghalaya has risen above the lowest grade since the inception of the PGI. Meghalaya now shares the Akanshi-1 category with states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Tripura, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, reflecting Meghalaya’s emergence from the bottom tier into the mainstream group of improving states.
The achievement is the outcome of sustained educational reforms undertaken by the Meghalaya government over the past eight years, with particularly focused interventions during the last three years under the leadership of the state government. It demonstrates that consistent policy reforms, improved governance, investment in school infrastructure, teacher capacity building, and evidence-based planning are beginning to yield measurable results.
Meghalaya’s PGI score has steadily increased from 401.62 in 2022-23 to 417.90 in 2023-24, 448.00 in 2024-25, and 525.71 in 2025-26, registering an overall increase of more than 124 points (nearly 31%) in just three years. Such sustained year-on-year improvement places Meghalaya among the fastest improving states and union territories in the country under the PGI framework.
The Performance Grading Index is the Government of India’s comprehensive framework for assessing school education across states and union territories. PGI 2.0 evaluates states on 70 indicators across six domains namely Learning Outcomes & Quality, Access, Infrastructure & Facilities, Equity, Governance Processes, and Teacher Education & Training, using data from UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan, PM POSHAN, PRABANDH and Vidyanjali.
The government attributes this improvement to several major reforms and initiatives undertaken during recent years, including:
- Teacher Welfare: Recognising that motivated and financially secure teachers are the cornerstone of quality education, the State Government has made sustained efforts to address several long-pending issues affecting teachers through an extensive consultative process. These efforts have culminated in mutually acceptable and lasting solutions. A major reform has been the introduction of the Structured Pay Framework (SPF), which consolidates multiple categories of fixed-pay teachers into a single, transparent pay structure. Under the SPF, teachers now receive remuneration linked to their years of experience, benefit from assured annual increments, and are covered by a contributory provident fund to provide post-retirement social security. By addressing long-standing service-related concerns, the Government has enabled teachers to devote greater attention to classroom teaching and student learning. The positive impact of these reforms is increasingly reflected in improved teacher motivation, greater professional commitment, and better educational outcomes across the State.
- Rationalisation of Schools: Massive rationalisation of the school network to improve efficiency and educational planning. Rationalisation and clustering of schools, resulting in the optimisation of the school network from 14,641 schools in 2024-25 to 11,443 schools in 2025-26, enabling more efficient utilisation of educational resources and improved school management.
- Launch of CM IMPACT, resulting in a significant improvement in SSLC examination outcomes.
- Large-scale school infrastructure improvement under Mission Education, Samagra Shiksha, and the ADB-funded Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya Project, improving learning environments across thousands of schools.
- Strengthening teacher training through the establishment of the Meghalaya Teacher Training Academy (MTTA).
- Expansion of digital governance, UDISE+ data quality, school monitoring systems, and technology-enabled administration.
- Focused interventions to improve foundational literacy and numeracy, inclusive education, school leadership, and governance.
The state government also undertook an intensive review of every indicator of the PGI after the release of the previous report. Detailed district-wise analysis, regular monitoring meetings, issuance of standard operating procedures, capacity-building programmes, and targeted action plans were implemented to address weak indicators identified in the PGI framework. These efforts significantly strengthened compliance and reporting across schools.
The government recognises that while this achievement is encouraging, it is not the destination but the beginning of a new phase of educational transformation. The latest PGI report also identifies areas requiring further improvement, particularly in learning outcomes and governance processes, providing a clear roadmap for future reforms. The Government remains committed to addressing these gaps through sustained investment, stronger academic support, enhanced teacher development, improved infrastructure, and better governance systems.
The state expresses its gratitude to teachers, school heads, students, parents, School Management Committees, District School Education Officers, Directorates, Samagra Shiksha Mission, SEMAM, partner organisations, and every stakeholder whose collective efforts have contributed to this milestone.
The education department reiterates its commitment to achieving progressively higher PGI grades in the coming years and to building a school education system that delivers equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education for every child in Meghalaya.
Key Highlights
- Governance Processes (Domain 5) recorded the sharpest improvement, more than doubling from 40.5 to 85.6 — signalling major strides in administrative and governance reforms in the education sector.
- Infrastructure & Facilities (Domain 3) improved significantly from 62.1 to 77.8, reflecting continued investment in school infrastructure.
- Teacher Education & Training (Domain 6) and Access (Domain 2) also posted steady gains, rising to 57.5 and 49.1 respectively.
- Equity (Domain 4), already the State’s strongest-performing domain, remained stable at a high level (208.5), underscoring consistent performance in ensuring equitable access to education.
- Learning Outcomes & Quality (Domain 1) improved sharply from 31.6 to 47.2 and has held steady, with scope for further focus going forward.
