Kerala best in quality of school education: Niti Report

Kerala emerged on top among 20 large states in terms of quality of school education, followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka, while the most-populous Uttar Pradesh was ranked at the bottom position during 2016-17, according to a report released by the Niti Aayog.

The overall performance score for the large states ranged from 76.6 per cent for Kerala to 36.4 per cent for Uttar Pradesh.

The report, titled ‘The Success of Our Schools-School Education Quality Index’ (SEQI), has been jointly released by the Niti Aayog, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the World Bank. It is based on indexing of states and Union Territories on the learning outcomes for school-going children.

SEQI, which used 2016-17 as the reference year and 2015-16 as the base year, was developed to evaluate the performance of states and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education sector.

Among eight smaller states, Manipur, Tripura, and Goa bagged the top three positions, respectively, followed by Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Of the seven UTs, Chandigarh came at the top position, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Puducherry, Daman & Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

The index, prepared on the basis of 30 indicators, was divided into two broad categories—outcomes that consisted of learning, access, infrastructure & facilities, and equity outcomes; and governance processes aiding outcomes.

It provides states and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and undertake requisite course corrections or policy interventions, Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said at the report launch in New Delhi.

“In line with the Niti Aayog’s mandate to foster the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism, the index strives to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices across states and UTs,” Kant said.

Among the small states, the overall performance varied from 68.8 per cent for Manipur to 24.6 per cent for Arunachal Pradesh. In UTs, the overall performance scored from 82.9 per cent for Chandigarh to 31.9 per cent for Lakshadweep.

The report highlighted that amid challenges of improving learning outcomes, educational access and infrastructure are continuing for states and UTs and require more focus and investments.