Assam has been ranked sixth among the large states in the NITI Aayog school education quality index launched on Monday (November 18).

The other five top states are Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

The top-performing states achieved an overall performance score above 60 per cent.

With an overall performance of 36.4 per cent, Uttar Pradesh is at the last position among the large states.

The report revealed Kerala scored an overall performance percentage of 76.6 per cent to claim the top spot.

It further said that among the 20 large states, 18 improved their overall performance between 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.

"Haryana, Assam and Uttar Pradesh showed the most improvement in their performance in 2016-17, in comparison to the base year of 2015-16," the report said.

Manipur emerged as the best performer among the smaller states.

Chandigarh had the highest overall performance score of 82.9 per cent among the Union Territories.

Tamil Nadu was the top performer in access and equity outcomes, while Karnataka led in learning outcomes.

With an overall performance score of 31.9 per cent, Lakshadweep ranked last.

Haryana had the best infrastructure and facilities.

The NITI Aayog index reported Delhi to have performed better on governance processes aiding the outcomes category.

West Bengal was not included in the evaluation process as it refused to participate in the evaluation process.

The school education quality index consists of 30 critical indicators that assess the delivery of quality education.

It has been developed through a collaborative process including key stakeholders.

The stakeholders are the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, the World Bank and sector experts.

The school education index is aimed at evaluating the performance of states and Union Territories (UTs) in the school education sector.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal congratulated the state education department after the release.

The Assam CM urged the department officials to work harder in the future and develop in the ranking in the future.

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