Shimla, May 20 -- Himachal Pradesh has emerged as one of the top-performing states in school education in the country, securing the third position among states, ranking behind Punjab and Kerala, and sixth overall, including union territories, in the latest Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 rankings for the academic year 2024-25 released by the ministry of education.

The hill state registered a major jump of seven positions from its previous overall national ranking of 13th. Its overall PGI score rose sharply by 85.4 points, increasing from 573.8 in 2023-24 to 659.2 in 2024-25.

With the improved performance, the state has been placed in the "Prachesta-2" category, the second-highest grade category achieved by any state or UT in the cou...