The Kerala authorities has signed up for the Union authorities’s PM SHRI scheme to safe an estimated ₹1,446 crore for the modernization of presidency colleges within the State amid strident opposition from the Communist Get together of India. (CPI), a key ruling Left Democratic Entrance (LDF) ally.
In keeping with officers, Okay. Vasuki, Common Schooling Secretary, was in New Delhi to finalize the modalities. They mentioned the funds would give the State authorities a monetary leg-up so as to add trendy services to school rooms, together with shiny school rooms, science laboratories, and state-of-the-art data and communication. expertise units to catalyze studying.
CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam advised The Hindu that signing up for the PM-SHRI with out taking the LDF into confidence was a brazen violation of coalition ethics.
“It’s true the federal government has signed the settlement for PM SHRI scheme. The CPI’s State secretariat is convening on the get together’s State headquarters urgently on Friday to weigh the difficulty and register its robust objection,” he mentioned.
The federal government appeared to have sidestepped objections raised by the CPI, which seen the PM SHRI scheme as intrinsically tied to the “anti-federal and reactionary Nationwide Schooling Coverage. CPI(M) in opposition to taking the Bharatiya Janata Get together’s “Nationwide Schooling Coverage (NEP) bait”.
The CPI had equated committing to the PM SHRI with adherence to the NEP. It mentioned the NEP infringed on federalism and sought to centralize training by negating cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversities by prescribing a “one-size fits-all” educating template.
In keeping with CPI sources, the get together’s Ministers had conveyed their apprehensions about registering for the PM SHRI scheme.
They reportedly said that it was inaccurate to match the PM SHRI with different federal allocations that are tied to particular circumstances designed to politically benefit the Union authorities, provided that the NEP was its “central ideological pillar”.
The CPI’s State government on Wednesday had famous that the PM SHRI had no retrospective impact and fund allocations have been linked to States submitting utilization certificates and Kerala would obtain solely a Negligible quantity of funds.
CPI(M) common secretary MA Child had tried to easy issues over with the CPI by reassuring its key ally that the federal government would interact with the Heart on PM SHRI funds with out compromising on the NEP. Nonetheless, Mr. Child’s assurance seemed to be of no avail on Thursday.
The workplace of Common Schooling Minister V. Sivankutty, Sarva Siksha Kerala Director and Ms. Vasuki was not out there for remark.
Different non-BJP-ruled States, together with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, had not fully rejected the PM SHRI however had expressed profound skepticism concerning the Centre’s transfer to tie the scheme to acceptance of the N.E.P.
Printed – October 23, 2025 10:37 pm IST