Punjab, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh Shine in PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024; Govt in Lok Sabha

Punjab, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh top the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 in student competency scores. Govt shared key findings in Lok Sabha, with the full report on the PARAKH dashboard.

Punjab, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh have emerged among the top-performing states in the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, a nationwide assessment conducted by the National Assessment Centre, PARAKH, NCERT under the Ministry of Education. The details were shared by the government in the Lok Sabha while replying to a question from MP Prof. Sougata Ray, with the full report available on the official PARAKH dashboard.

The survey, aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, evaluated 21.15 lakh students and 2.70 lakh teachers and school leaders from over 74,000 schools across 781 districts. It assessed students in Grades 3 (Foundational stage), 6 (Preparatory stage), and 9 (Middle stage) on competencies outlined in the National Curriculum Frameworks for Foundational and School Education.

Findings of PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 

• Language ahead of Mathematics: Across grades, Language scores were consistently higher, with Mathematics showing the lowest national averages at the Middle stage (Grade 9).
• Gender trends: Girls outperformed boys in Language and Social Science, while boys had a slight edge in Mathematics and Science at higher grades.
• Rural vs Urban: In early grades, rural students performed marginally better in both Language and Mathematics; by Grade 9, urban students led in all subjects.
• School types: State Government and private schools led in early-stage scores; Central Government schools topped Grade 9 performance in Language, but Kendriya Vidyalayas lagged in Grade 3 Mathematics (57% vs national 60%).
• Social categories: ‘Others’ category students scored the highest; ST students recorded the lowest outcomes across most subjects.

Kendriya Vidyalayas – Mathematics Scores vs National Average

Top-Performing States/UTs by Category

Grade 9 Mathematics Competency Gaps

As per the report, national averages for select skills in Grade 9 Mathematics:

• Percentage application – 28%
• Sets of numbers understanding – 31%
• Algebraic manipulation – 38%
• Geometry application – 37–40%

Interventions

Education Ministry informed that the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) has rolled out measures such as:

• Balvatika I–III for early childhood education.
• Vidya Pravesh and Jaadui Pitara kits for play-based learning.
• Competency-based learning integrated with ICT tools.
• Teacher training in partnership with NCERT, CBSE, IITs, IISERs, HBCSE, and NISER.