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Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on June 23 said improving the state's Performance Grading Index (PGI) remains a key priority, as the government intensified efforts to address shortcomings identified in the latest national assessment that ranked Meghalaya last among all states.

Sharing details of a review meeting, Sangma said it was the second such exercise aimed at tracking progress and finalising measures to strengthen the state's performance.

“Improving Meghalaya’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) remains a key priority. Today, we held our second review meeting to assess progress and finalise key action points aimed at strengthening our performance,” the Chief Minister said.

According to Sangma, the discussions focused on closing gaps in school infrastructure and basic amenities, improving the quality of educational data, and ensuring timely and accurate reporting by schools — factors considered crucial for improving PGI indicators.

The meeting also reviewed ongoing and completed upgradation works in schools and colleges across the state.

The latest review follows a directive issued by the Chief Minister earlier this month after Meghalaya emerged as the lowest-ranked state in the Union Ministry of Education’s PGI 2.0 report for 2024-25.

During a review held on June 3, Sangma said the government had conducted a detailed assessment of the reasons behind the state's poor showing in the index.

“Held a detailed review to deliberate on improving Meghalaya’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) ranking. We carefully assessed the factors behind the low score and identified key gaps, including reporting challenges that impacted our overall rating,” he had said.

The Chief Minister had then instructed the Education Department to strengthen reporting systems and prepare a focused strategy aimed at improving both performance indicators and learning outcomes. He also reiterated the government's commitment to improving school infrastructure to secure a better ranking in future assessments.

The PGI 2.0 report awarded Meghalaya 448 points out of a possible 1,000, placing it in the Akanshi-3 category, the lowest grading band in the country. The assessment flagged weaknesses across governance, learning outcomes, infrastructure and teacher training.

Meghalaya scored 40.5 out of 130 in governance and 47.2 out of 240 in learning outcomes, placing it among the weaker-performing states in the Northeast. In contrast, neighbouring Assam recorded one of the largest improvements nationally, scoring 593.6 and moving into the Prachesta-3 category.

Responding to criticism over the rankings last week, Sangma argued that the PGI does not fully capture the realities of education in Meghalaya. He cited structural issues, including multiple schools functioning from the same campus under separate UDISE registrations, which he said affected the state's evaluation.

The Chief Minister also maintained that several education reforms undertaken in recent years were yielding results, pointing to improved pass percentages, reduced dropout rates and efforts to enhance school quality. He expressed confidence that the impact of these interventions would be reflected in future PGI assessments.