The School Education Quality Index is useful in measuring the quality of education provided in schools in all Indian States and Union Territories. The NITI Aayog- The National Institute of Transforming India has released the first edition of SEQI (School Education Quality Index). It has released the first edition of SEQI to drive improvements in the quality of education. Although, there is a huge difference in the school education quality across the country. According to the ranking described by the NITI Aayog, Kerala is the best state in terms of performance in the education sector, reaching 76.6%. In contrast, U.P. scored only 36.4% and thus came last in their performance. 

SEQI – School Education Quality Index

Getting an education is the basic right of every child. Although, from the right to receive education to the launch of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, education has consistently been prioritized in launching schemes and taking necessary initiatives. The Government of India has also introduced various policies and schemes for higher education for children improving the research and innovation culture in the nation. The universities and public schools are bound to deliver the quality education they provide for everyone. Though, to regulate a necessary check and drive improvements in the quality of education in schools, SEQI is established. 

About SEQI

• NITI Aayog developed SEQI to analyse the performance of all Indian states and Union Territories in the school education sector. 
• The SEQI tends to bring education policy that is outcome-focused by providing a platform to the States and Union Territories, identifying their strength and weakness and from necessary policy inventions for the same. As a result, the SEQI will drive improvements in the quality of educationacross the country. 
• The Index also attempts to facilitate knowledge sharing and form best practices in India’s States and Union Territories. The practices are in line with fostering the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism, as mandated by NITI Aayog. 
• The School Education Quality Index is developed in a collaborative process involving the stakeholders such as the World Bank, Sector experts, and MHRD. 
• As bringing a high-quality education system is a prerequisitegoal of SEQI, its Index consists of 30 important indicators that examine the delivery of quality in the education sector. 

Composition of SEQI

The School Education Quality Index is based on indicators that help measure the overall efficiency, quality, and effectiveness of the school education sector in the country. It motives the States and U.T.s to enhance their performance by progressing in the following the below aspects- 

Category 1- Outcomes 

1. Learning outcomes
2. Equity outcomes
3. Access outcomes
4. Infrastructure and facilities for outcomes

Category 2- Governance processes aiding outcomes

Governance processes aiding outcomes include teacher availability, training, administrative adequacy, student and teacher attendance, transparency, and accountability. 

Purpose of School Education Quality Index 

The School Education Quality Index aims to bring policy reform that drives improvements in the quality of education. The SEQI tends to standardize the focus on improving the education outcomes by improving the learning levels, infrastructure, equity, access, and various other government procedures. SEQI realises State-level management is very important for enhancing the education outcomes in cost-effective ways, as school education is an essence of the concurrent lists. The SEQI serves as a transparent and regular review of the school education quality status and establishes an equitable and vibrant knowledge society across the Indian States and Union Territories.

Key highlights of the Index 

The NITI Aayog has prepared the SEQI based on 2016-17 data. The Index highlights the efforts made by schools to increase the learning skills of students. Following are the highlights of the Index released by NITI Aayog. 

• The list is classified into three columns, i.e., the large states, Small States and U.T.s. 
• Kerala, Rajasthan, and Karnataka are in the top three states on the list. And Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh are the top three bottom states. 
• The smaller states with separate ranks include- Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Goa, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya. 
• Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and one of the largest states in India, but its performance to drive improvements in the quality of the education sector is very low. 

The 20 states of India with rankings

Following are the names of the top 20 states mentioned in the School Education Quality Index list.

1. Kerala 2. Rajasthan 3. Karnataka 4. Andhra Pradesh 5. Gujarat 6. Assam 7. Maharashtra 8. Tamil Nadu 9. Himachal Pradesh 10. Uttarakhand 11. Haryana 12. Orissa 13. Chhattisgarh 14. Telangana 15. Madhya Pradesh 16. Jharkhand 17. Bihar 18. Punjab 19. Jammu and Kashmir 20. Uttar Pradesh.

Conclusion 

The aim of NITI Aayog to drive improvements in the quality of education is measured through School Education Quality Index. As the NITI Aayog has released the first edition of SEQI, the Index list is divided into three parts, i.e., Large States, Small States and U.T.s. Among the large states, Kerala has acquired the first position concerning the performance in the education sector, followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh has the lowest performance concerning improvement in the education sector.