SHILLONG: In a historic milestone for the state’s education sector, Meghalaya has officially broken free from its long-standing position at the bottom of the national rankings.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui announced that the state has recorded an unprecedented jump in the newly released Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 report for the academic year 2025-26, issued by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Meghalaya’s overall score soared from 448.00 in the 2024-25 assessment to a commendable 525.71. This remarkable progress marks the first time since the inception of the PGI framework that the state has advanced by two grades within a single year—moving decisively out of the lowest tier, Akanshi-3, into the improved Akanshi-1 category.
With this upgrade, Meghalaya now shares its educational grading tier with several other prominent states and Union Territories, including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Tripura, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
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This transition highlights a steady upward trajectory in the state’s education delivery system. Scores have risen from 401.62 in 2022-23 to 417.90 in 2023-24, culminating in the current milestone. Over just three years, the state’s PGI score has climbed by over 124 points—a nearly 31% increase—making Meghalaya one of the fastest-improving states in the country.
The state government credits this success to a comprehensive overhaul of institutional policies and deep structural reforms executed in recent years. Central to this transformation has been an unwavering focus on teacher welfare and professional security. Recognising that a motivated workforce is essential for quality education, the government resolved long-standing issues by introducing the Structured Pay Framework (SPF).
This landmark reform placed fixed-pay teachers under a uniform, transparent salary system based on years of service, with annual increments and provident fund security. By stabilizing their financial future, the government empowered educators to concentrate fully on classroom teaching and student outcomes.
Simultaneously, a massive school rationalisation drive optimised resources by consolidating institutions. The total number of schools was streamlined from 14,641 in 2024-25 to 11,443 in 2025-26, enabling better fund utilization and stricter administrative oversight.
Targeted interventions, such as the launch of the CM IMPACT program, directly boosted pass percentages in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate exams. Infrastructure and teacher training saw a significant uplift through Mission Education, Samagra Shiksha, and the Asian Development Bank-funded Supporting Human Capital Development in Meghalaya Project.
The establishment of the Meghalaya Teacher Training Academy ensured rigorous professional development, while digital integration via UDISE+ data management and advanced school monitoring tools maximized operational efficiency.
(4FrontMedia news)
