MP Congress questions school education performance, says no district crosses 60 pc mark

Bhopal, Aug 29 (IANS) The Opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh has questioned the state government’s school education performance, saying no district in the state crossed the 60 per cent mark in the Union Education Ministry’s Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) 2025-26.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday, mentioned that the best-performing district scored 333 out of 600 points, or 55.5 per cent, in the assessment. “The situation of Madhya Pradesh in this report should be considered a serious report card of your government’s education system. Not a single district of Madhya Pradesh has crossed the 60 per cent mark,” Patwari said.

The PGI-D 2025-26 assessed the school education system in 784 districts across the country on 70 indicators, including learning outcomes, infrastructure, school safety and child protection, digital learning and governance. Patwari cited the performance of several districts to highlight gaps in the state’s education system.

He said Bhopal scored around 47 per cent in learning outcomes and 37 per cent in school safety, while Indore recorded around 41 per cent in school facilities and 47 per cent in learning outcomes. Digital learning was particularly weak in several districts, he said. Sagar scored around 24 per cent, Barwani 16 per cent, Agar-Malwa 28 per cent, and Dhar 20 per cent in the parameter.

“These figures have not been arrived at through a Congress survey. They are based on the assessment system of the Union Ministry of Education,” Patwari said, adding that the data was based on government sources, including UDISE+, PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 and PRABANDH.

He demanded a district-wise public review of the PGI-D results and time-bound plans to improve learning outcomes. The state Congress chief also sought audits of digital resources, internet connectivity, smart classes and teacher training in districts where digital learning scores are below 30 per cent.

Patwari also demanded safety audits in districts performing poorly in school safety and child protection and quarterly reviews of learning outcomes at the Chief Minister’s level. “The future of children in Madhya Pradesh is not a subject for political propaganda. You are running the government, so you will have to answer,” he wrote in the letter.

–IANS

pd/uk