Telangana Improves in National Performance Grading Index but Lags in Learning Outcomes
Telangana climbed to 18th in the national PGI rankings, but learning outcomes remained a key concern despite gains in overall school education performance.
Telangana moved from 28th place in the national performance grading index (PGI) in 2024-25 to 18th in 2025-26, but learning outcomes remained its weakest area, officials said as a two-day orientation for district education teams began here on Monday to review performance gaps, data quality and district action plans.
The state scored 599.7 out of 1,000 and entered the Prachesta-3 grade. Access was its strongest area, with Telangana ranked seventh nationally, while learning outcomes stood at 69 out of 240 and ranked 26th.
Education secretary Dr Yogita Rana inaugurated the programme and asked district officers to move beyond the overall rank and examine performance indicator by indicator. “PGI should not be viewed merely as a ranking exercise,” she said, adding that it should help officials identify persistent gaps and set district priorities.
She said accurate reporting on UDISE+ and careful completion of the data capturing form were vital. “Reliable, complete and timely data is central to the credibility of the PGI exercise,” she said. District officials were asked to strengthen data collection, verification and review, and assign accountability at every level.
Rana also called for sustained attention to foundational literacy and numeracy and closer review of classroom practices. She said the Chief Minister had congratulated the education department and wanted Telangana to reach a single-digit rank in the next PGI cycle.
Seven officials from each district were attending the orientating programme, led by the district educational officer and joined by six functionaries from district, mandal, school-complex and cluster levels.
Dr E. Naveen Nicolas, director of school education, felicitated Jangaon and Mancherial as the top-performing districts. Peddapalli, Wanaparthy and Narayanpet were recognised for their performance in the FLN sample study survey. He told DEOs they were accountable for district performance and must closely monitor data collection, verification and submission.
