GUWAHATI: Assam has finished a poor 30th among 35 states and union territories in the composite educational development index (EDI) in upper and lower primary levels taken together for the year 2013-14 in the country. The state's position is even worse at 32nd when the EDI of only the primary level is taken into account.
The only silver lining for the state is that in the outcome category in the primary level only, which includes rates of student enrolment and drop-outs, it has ranked number one in the country and fifth in the country in upper primary level. A set of 24 indicators have been used in computing EDI which are re-grouped into four sub-groups - access, infrastructure, teachers and outcome indicators. Only five states - Madhya Pradesh (31), West Bengal (32), Jharkhand (33), Bihar (34) and Uttar Pradesh (35) - are below Assam, according to the report published by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration and the Union HRD ministry this week. The top five states with best EDI in lower and upper primary levels are Puducherry at number one followed by Lakshwadeep, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. All other northeastern states have been ranked above Assam.
