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General Education Minister V Sivankutty has said that the Kerala government's decision to sign the MoU for the PM SHRI scheme with the Union Government was a "strategic move" aimed at facilitating the release of blocked funds.
The Minister argued that the signing was essential to "counter the Union government’s attempt to block the funds" designated for the state’s education sector. The state government led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) signed the MoU on October 23 despite strong opposition from the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest partner in the ruling LDF coalition.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, October 24, the minister said, the government decision came after a warning by the Union government that the state will face consequences unless it acts. ”It means that we will lose the money. So, we were forced to sign as we needed money,” he said.
"We will not allow the loss of even a single rupee due to the children. The Union government had blocked the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan fund for not signing the PM SHRI,” Sivankutty said.
The minister said that Kerala has lost Rs 1158 crore so far because of this. “The state lost Rs 188.58 crore in 2023-24. The arrear for 2024-25 is Rs 513.14 crore. The state is supposed to receive Rs 456.1 crore in 2025-26, which has also been withheld,” he said. Sivan Kutty said by signing the MoU now, the state will receive Rs 1476.13 crore, which includes the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the PM SHRI fund.
“Currently, the Union government has agreed to provide Rs 971 crore,” he said.
The minister said Kerala is far ahead of mandates set by PM SHRI as many programs which are part of it have already been implemented in the state. “Kerala is the only state that has revised the curriculum and textbooks for classes 1 to 10 after the NEP came into effect. Our curriculum focuses on secularism, scientific temper, and constitutional values. Kerala is the only state that included the lessons, which was excluded by the NCERT, like the assassination of Gandhi and Mughal history. The same curriculum and textbooks will continue to be taught in all schools in Kerala. There will be no change in that,” he said.
Binoy Viswam, State Secretary of the CPI, said the Kerala government's decision to sign the MoU without prior discussion or informing its allies was a violation of alliance norms. "There were no discussions about the MoU in the cabinet. This topic was brought up for discussion twice, but both times it was set aside for policy-level considerations. And there was no discussion regarding this matter in the Left Democratic Front (LDF). The decision was made without consulting the cabinet or the alliance parties. This is not LDF’s way. This should not be LDF’s way," he said.
"We didn’t put a signature on everything. All the things related to the curriculum will be decided by the state government. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Kerala has the right to decide academic content," he added.
Answering the question that, even if PM SHRI is not intervening in curriculum, then why the state was reluctant to sign it, the minister said, "PM SHRI is part of the NEP. We had doubts and concerns before signing, and the discussion was ongoing. Just because the Union government introduced a new scheme doesn't mean it will be implemented the very next day. I also conducted meetings with the Union minister," he added.
CPI Rajya Sabha member Santhosh Kumar termed it as a violation of the policies and principles of the Left Democratic Front. “Our party leadership, both in Kerala and at the national level, is discussing this issue,” he said, while speaking to the media.
The Congress party has lashed out at the state government, alleging that participation in the PM SHRI scheme would lead to the “saffronisation” of Kerala’s education system. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan had warned the state government against signing it and demanded that it take a stand similar to Tamil Nadu.