The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) appears divided over the Kerala government’s move to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Union government to access the Prime Minister’s Schools for Raising India (PM SHRI) government school modernisation funds, purportedly linked to compliance with the politically controversial National Education Policy (NEP).
Kerala is among the several non-BJP-ruled States, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, that have not signed up for PM SHRI funds based on the perception that it would be tantamount to complying with the NEP, which the national Opposition views as the Centre’s political tool for infringing on the jurisdiction of State governments over general education, a Concurrent List subject.
However, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty on Sunday signalled a modification in the LDF’s political line.
He stated that signing the MoU did not signal that the Kerala government would comply with the NEP guidelines.
Mr. Sivankutty said he advocated a pragmatic approach without compromising the LDF’s opposition to the NEP. The Minister noted that Kerala could ill afford to lose the ₹1,446 crore the Centre owed the State under the PM SHRI scheme.
“The State government bore the entire cost of school education, including the salaries of 7,000 teachers, with scarce help from the Centre.
The PM SHRI outlay would give Kerala a much-needed fiscal leg-up to expedite the modernisation of government schools, post-matric hostels, fund educational research, and increase endowments for underprivileged students,” he said.
CPI cries foul
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has cried foul. CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam told The Hindu that the government’s last-minute decision to sign up for PM SHRI funds was fiscally non-beneficial.
He noted the 2022 PM SHRI scheme would expire in 2026-27. It and entailed no retrospective compensation. “Kerala would only receive meagre funds. However, political rivals could construe the government’s bid as a nod to the Sangh Parivar’s science-denying and reactionary NEP, which seeks to saffronise and corporatise education,” Mr. Viswam said.
