Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 19 (IANS) Ending months of uncertainty and internal wrangling within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Kerala government has decided to join the Centre’s flagship education initiative — the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme — despite stiff opposition from the CPI, a key coalition partner.

Education Minister V. Sivankutty confirmed that the decision has been formally communicated to the Union government and that the department secretary has been instructed to sign the agreement.

“This was the only way to secure the Centre’s share of Rs 1,500 crore, which has been pending for various educational programmes in Kerala,” the minister said.

The move marks a significant policy shift for the LDF government, which had previously withdrawn from the scheme twice under pressure from the CPI.

The latest decision, however, was taken without placing the matter before the State Cabinet.

According to Sivankutty, cabinet approval was unnecessary as similar procedures were followed by the Agriculture and Higher Education departments while joining central projects.

The renewed decision followed a meeting between Minister Sivankutty and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi.

Subsequent consultations with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) leadership cleared the way for Kerala’s participation.

Under the PM SHRI scheme, two schools from each block will be selected and developed with central assistance. Each institution will receive an average annual grant of Rs one crore for five years to upgrade infrastructure and teaching standards.

Initially, the state government had resisted joining the scheme, arguing that it could indirectly facilitate the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in Kerala.

The CPI and several education activists had voiced concern that displaying boards with the title “PM SHRI School” would amount to political branding and compromise the state’s autonomy in education policy.

However, the General Education Department warned that Kerala’s continued absence from the scheme had already led to the freezing of Rs 1,500 crore in central funds under the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) programme, disrupting salaries of nearly 6,000 SSK employees.

Minister Sivankutty reiterated that while Kerala would join PM SHRI to access the funds, the state would not implement any of the NEP provisions it has officially rejected, including those concerning syllabus changes and historical content revision.

–IANS

aal/dpb