Parliament Question: Assam's Ranking in The National School Education Quality Index

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-58 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 Assam's Ranking in The National School Education Quality Index 58. Shri Gaurav Gogoi: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the specific parameters on which Assam was ranked in the second-lowest grade in the national school education quality (Performance Grading Index); (b) the current status of NEP 2020 implementation in Assam, Ministry-wise and scheme-wise; (c) whether central funding under Samagra Shiksha for Assam has been released in full for the current financial year and if not, the shortfall and reasons therefor; and (d) the specific teacher recruitment plan, if any, formulated for the State? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a): The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education has prepared 70-indicator based Performance Grading Index 2.0 for States/UTs to measure key driving performance and critical areas of school education at State/UT level. The domain-wise performance of the States/UTs including Assam and list of the indicators in PGI 2.0 report for the year 2025-26 can be accessed at https://spgi.udiseplus.gov.in. Further, Assam has attained Prachesta-3 grade in PGI 2.0 for the year 2025-26. It is noteworthy that the State’s overall score improved from 593.6 in 2024-25 to 615.4 in 2025-26, reflecting consistent progress and growth across key domains. (b): A number of transformative changes have taken place in school education after the announcement of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Department of School Education & Literacy has aligned the different centrally sponsored schemes with NEP 2020 to facilitate achievement of NEP goals across levels of school education. These schemes are being implemented across the Country, including the State of Assam. The major schemes that have been aligned to translate the vision of NEP 2020 into ground realities are:  Samagra Shiksha- an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from preschool to class 12 aims for improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.  PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) - It aims to develop more than 14500 selected schools as exemplar schools that offers leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood, showcasing all the initiatives of NEP 2020.  Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Scheme: Under PM POSHAN Scheme, one hot cooked meal is provided to students studying in Government andGovernment Aided Schools at the elementary level of school education (including Bal Vatika).  ULLAS: The scheme is targeted at all non-literates of age 15 years and above. The scheme is to be implemented through volunteerism. The learners will be encouraged to access the content in local languages in online mode through DIKSHA platform in NCERT. Government/Aided schools registered under UDISE are the units of implementation of the scheme which are run by the State/UT Governments. (c): The Department of School Education & Literacy is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in partnership with all the States and UTs. Financial assistance is provided to all States and UTs for various components for implementation of the interventions under Samagra Shiksha as per norms. The central share of Rs. 2930.09 cr has been released in all four installments for State of Assam under Samagra Shiksha for the year 2025-26. (d): Education is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools and teachers in the country are under the administrative control of the State Governments and UT Administrations. The recruitment, service conditions and rational deployment of teachers come under the purview of the respective State Governments/UT Administrations. Recruitment is a continuous process and vacancies arise due to a number of factors like retirement, resignation, increased requirement of teachers because of the enhanced students’ strength etc. The Central Government through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, provides financial assistance to the States and UTs to maintain appropriate Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) for various levels of schooling, as per norms prescribed in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, as amended from time to time. ******