Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Amid tensions within Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) over the state government’s decision to sign the PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar has said that Kerala had agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as early as March 2024.
Speaking to Asianet News, Sanjay Kumar stated, “The Kerala government had given us an undertaking in March 2024 that they would sign the MoU.” He also clarified that the PM SHRI scheme does not require mandatory implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-recommended syllabus. “There is nothing mandatory; education is on the Concurrent List. The states determine what their curriculum should be,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kerala is witnessing strong opposition within the LDF over the scheme. Earlier reports suggested that the Kerala government signed the MoU on October 23. However, subsequent reports indicated that the agreement was signed on October 16, without informing alliance partners.
Kerala’s General Education Minister V Sivankutty defended the government’s decision as a “strategic move” to secure blocked funds. Addressing the media on October 24, he said the Union government had warned that the state would face financial consequences if it failed to comply. “It meant that we would lose the money. So we were forced to sign, as we needed the funds,” he explained.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest alliance in LDF, has criticised the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] for making the decision unilaterally, allegedly without consulting alliance partners or the state cabinet. CPI ministers had earlier decided to oppose the implementation of PM SHRI on October 22.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam denounced the move as a violation of alliance norms. “There were no discussions about the MoU in the cabinet. The issue was brought up twice but deferred both times for policy-level consideration,” he said. CPI leader and Kerala Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Chinchu Rani also stated that she came to know about the decision only through news reports.