The Kerala government has signed up for the Union government’s PM SHRI scheme to secure an estimated ₹1,446 crore for the modernisation of government schools in the State amidst strident opposition from the Communist Party of India (CPI), a key ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) ally.
According to officials, K. Vasuki, General Education Secretary, was in New Delhi to finalise the modalities. They said the funds would give the State government a financial leg-up to add modern facilities to classrooms, including bright classrooms, science laboratories, and state-of-the-art information and communication technology devices to catalyse learning.
CPI State secretary Binoy Viswam told The Hindu that signing up for the PM-SHRI without taking the LDF into confidence was a brazen violation of coalition ethics.
“It is true the government has signed the agreement for PM SHRI scheme. The CPI’s State secretariat is convening at the party’s State headquarters urgently on Friday to weigh the issue and register its strong objection,” he said.
The government appeared to have sidestepped objections raised by the CPI, which viewed the PM SHRI scheme as intrinsically tied to the “anti-federal and reactionary National Education Policy. The CPI had warned the CPI(M] against taking the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “National Education Policy (NEP) bait”.
The CPI had equated committing to the PM SHRI with adherence to the NEP. It said the NEP infringed on federalism and sought to centralise education by negating cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversities by prescribing a “one-size fits-all” teaching template.
According to CPI sources, the party’s Ministers had conveyed their apprehensions about registering for the PM SHRI scheme.
They reportedly stated that it was inaccurate to compare the PM SHRI with other federal allocations which are tied to specific conditions designed to politically advantage the Union government, given that the NEP was its “central ideological pillar”.
The CPI’s State executive on Wednesday had noted that the PM SHRI had no retrospective effect and fund allocations were linked to States submitting utilisation certificates and Kerala would receive only a negligible amount of funds.
CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby had tried to smooth things over with the CPI by reassuring its key ally that the government would engage with the Centre on PM SHRI funds without compromising on the NEP. However, Mr. Baby’s assurance appeared to be of no avail on Thursday.
The office of General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Sarva Siksha Kerala Director and Ms. Vasuki were not available for comment.
Other non-BJP-ruled States, including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, had not entirely rejected the PM SHRI but had expressed profound scepticism about the Centre’s move to tie the scheme to acceptance of the NEP.
Published – October 23, 2025 10:37 pm IST
