Punjab tops national learning survey, outshines Kerala in Parakh rankings

Punjab has outperformed all other states, including Kerala—the most literate state in India—in the evaluation of learning outcomes among students of Classes III, VI and IX, according to the Parakh Rashtriya Sarvekshan-2024 released by the Union Education Ministry on Monday.

Punjab topped the national rankings for Class III with an average score of 80, ahead of Himachal Pradesh (74) and Kerala (73). For Class VI, Punjab and Kerala jointly secured the top position with 67 marks each, followed by Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Chandigarh, both with 60 marks.

In the Class IX rankings, Punjab again led the country with 57 marks, closely followed by Kerala (56) and Chandigarh (53).

Notably, the survey revealed that girls outperformed boys across most educational parameters. It also highlighted that government schools performed better than private institutions, with significant gains in foundational literacy and numeracy.

Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains said the findings reflected the state’s consistent investment in school education. He pointed out that 845 students from Punjab’s government schools cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), while 265 successfully qualified the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Mains this year.

The National Achievement Survey (NAS), conducted under NCERT’s Parakh initiative, is a benchmark to evaluate student learning outcomes in key classes. The survey assesses competency in language, mathematics, science and social science through students’ participation from thousands of schools nationwide.

Providing insights into specific achievements, officials stated that Class III students in Punjab scored an average of 80 per cent, compared to the national average of 61 per cent. They demonstrated strong comprehension in reading, understanding short stories and solving maths problems involving two-digit numbers.

Similarly, Class VI students in Punjab scored between 50 per cent and 75 per cent, outperforming the national average across various learning categories. Class IX students scored between 42 per cent and 69 per cent, showing strong proficiency in language, mathematics, science and social science.

A senior official emphasised that government school students in Punjab scored 28 per cent higher than the national average in languages and 26 per cent higher in mathematics. Even government-aided schools scored 15 per cent higher in languages and 13 per cent higher in mathematics than the national benchmarks.

Punjab