Guwahati/Shillong, May 25: Assam and Meghalaya have emerged at opposite ends of school education performance in the Northeast, according to the Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 report for 2024–25 released by the Union Ministry of Education, with Assam recording one of the country’s strongest improvements while Meghalaya ranked last nationally.
Assam secured 593.6 points out of 1,000 and received a Prachesta-3 grade, improving by more than 82 points from its previous score of 511.5 in 2023–24. The state registered one of the sharpest gains in the country and performed strongly in governance, receiving an Uttam-3 grade and joining better-performing regions such as Maharashtra, Chandigarh and Odisha.
Meghalaya, however, scored only 448 points, placing it in the Akanshi-3 category, the lowest band in the index. It became the only state in the country to fall into that grade category, recording the weakest overall performance among all states.
The report highlighted significant differences between the neighbouring states across major indicators. In governance, Assam performed considerably better, while Meghalaya scored 40.5 out of 130. In learning outcomes, which carry the highest weight in the assessment framework, Assam recorded 79.4, whereas Meghalaya scored 47.2, the lowest among northeastern states.
Meghalaya also faced challenges in several other categories, with infrastructure standing at 62.1 out of 190 and teacher training at 46.7 out of 100. Although the state improved from its previous score of 417.9, the increase of around 30 points represented the smallest improvement across the region. Its equity score remained relatively stable at 208.7 out of 260.
The report also highlighted Mizoram as a contrasting case. Despite maintaining a literacy rate above 91 per cent and being recognised as the only fully literate state in the Northeast, Mizoram scored 507.9 and remained in the Akanshi-2 category. Its results suggested that high literacy rates alone do not necessarily translate into stronger institutional performance in areas such as governance, infrastructure and learning outcomes.
Sikkim emerged as the region’s second-best performer with a score of 603.3 and recorded the highest infrastructure score in the Northeast at 112.3. Arunachal Pradesh also registered notable progress, improving by more than 65 points and moving up a full grading category. Tripura, Manipur and Nagaland also showed improvement compared to the previous assessment cycle.
The report observed encouraging trends in access and equity indicators across the Northeast, particularly in areas linked to enrolment, retention and school participation. However, learning outcomes and governance continued to remain major concerns across the region.
The Ministry of Education noted that the performance gap between states at the national level had reduced over recent years, attributing the trend partly to evidence-based monitoring systems and policy interventions. The findings also raised broader questions regarding the future direction of educational reforms in states such as Meghalaya and the ability of traditionally high-literacy regions like Mizoram to improve overall school system performance.
