Published Jun 29, 2026 | 7:47 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 29, 2026 | 7:52 PM
Quitting the PM-SHRI scheme to could cost Kerala ₹20000 crore, according to the government. (File)
Synopsis: Kerala’s PM SHRI debate has entered a new phase as the UDF government, once a vocal critic of the scheme, now argues that a previously signed MoU leaves the state with little choice but to proceed. The reversal has sparked a fierce political confrontation on whether the state can honour its agreement with the Centre while safeguarding its autonomy over education and curriculum.
Kerala’s debate over the Centre’s PM SHRI school scheme has shifted from whether it should be implemented to how it can be implemented without compromising the state’s educational autonomy.
The Congress-led UDF government, which had vehemently opposed the Centre’s PM SHRI school scheme while in the Opposition, is now preparing the ground for its implementation, arguing that Kerala is bound by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the previous LDF government and cannot unilaterally withdraw without risking Central education funds.
The UDF’s sharp U-turn on the scheme has opened a fresh political battle in Kerala, with the government defending implementation on legal and financial grounds despite having once promised to throw the agreement into the Arabian Sea.
Even as the government officially maintains that it is awaiting the report of a Cabinet sub-committee before taking a final call, fresh charges of double standards have begun to fly around, with critics accusing the UDF of defending a position it once denounced as a capitulation to the Sangh Parivar agenda.
The Congress-led UDF government has sought to justify its decision to proceed with the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme by leaning heavily on what it describes as legal and procedural compulsions inherited from its predecessor.
Rather than presenting the move as a policy shift, the government argues that the state is bound by commitments made by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration and cannot walk away from the scheme without risking the loss of central assistance.
The government’s principal defence rests on a specific provision in the MoU.
The agreement, the government argued in the Assembly, gives the state no unilateral right to withdraw from the project. The power to terminate the agreement rests solely with the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) under the Union Ministry of Education, which may cancel the agreement in the public interest by issuing a 30-day notice.
By highlighting this clause, the UDF has sought to portray its decision as one dictated by contractual obligations rather than political choice.
Yet, critics argue that the government is relying on technicalities to justify a position that is at odds with its earlier opposition to the scheme.
At the same time, the UDF has attempted to reassure critics that Kerala’s autonomy over school education will remain intact. It has insisted that the state alone will decide the schools to be brought under the scheme and that there will be no compromise on curriculum, which will continue to remain under the state’s control.
PM SHRI is the Union government’s flagship school education programme under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The scheme aims to transform more than 14,500 existing schools across the country into model institutions with improved infrastructure, modern teaching practices and better learning outcomes. States are required to bear 40 per cent of the project cost.
Kerala has consistently opposed the scheme, arguing that it opens the door to greater Central intervention in education—a subject in the Concurrent List—and could eventually facilitate the “saffronisation” of the curriculum.
Both the LDF and the UDF had opposed the project, maintaining that Kerala’s public education model should remain free from ideological influence.
However, the Left government signed the MoU for implementing the PM SHRI and later decided to ‘keep in abeyance.’
After assuming office, the UDF government has maintained that it has little room to manoeuvre.
Chief Minister VD Satheesan and General Education Minister N Samsudheen have argued that the state cannot simply withdraw after the MoU was signed and funds were released.
Instead, the government has constituted a fresh Cabinet sub-committee on June 18, under the General Education Minister, to study the scheme and recommend Kerala’s position—particularly over curriculum preparation and the selection of schools—before further communication with the Centre.
It held its first meeting on June 24 and has been asked to submit its report within a month.
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Meanwhile, the UDF, by defending the very PM SHRI school scheme it had fiercely opposed while in the opposition, has handed the LDF a potent political weapon.
During the Assembly election campaign, IUML leader K. Shaji, now a Minister in the VD Satheesan-led Cabinet, had declared that a UDF government would “throw the PM SHRI MoU into the Arabian Sea,” reflecting the alliance’s strong opposition to the scheme.
The UDF had accused the previous LDF government of secretly signing the Memorandum of Understanding in October 2025 and alleged that the scheme was a vehicle for implementing the NEP and promoting the BJP-RSS agenda in Kerala’s education sector.
Less than a year later, the UDF government argues that the state backing out of the MoU signed by the previous government could jeopardise substantial Samagra Shiksha funding from the Centre.
The decision has triggered a fierce political backlash, with the opposition LDF accusing the UDF of hypocrisy and a complete reversal of its stand.
Former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has described the move as a “shameful surrender” to the BJP-led Union government, repeatedly invoking Shaji’s “Arabian Sea” promise to question the UDF’s credibility.
LDF legislators staged a walkout in the Assembly last week, alleging that the Congress had misled voters, particularly the minority communities, by opposing PM SHRI during the campaign only to implement it after assuming office.
The LDF has also alleged the existence of a tacit Congress-BJP understanding, demanding that the UDF apologise for what it calls a betrayal of Kerala’s secular values. CPI(M) leaders contend that while the previous LDF government had signed the MoU, it never operationalised the scheme, accepted no funds under PM SHRI, and instead initiated review mechanisms before leaving office.
The UDF, meanwhile, has attempted to shift responsibility back to the LDF, accusing the previous government of placing Kerala in a difficult position by signing the MoU without broad political consultation. It insists that while it is honouring an existing commitment, it will implement the scheme without compromising Kerala’s educational autonomy or secular character.
Earlier, Chief Minister Satheesan had indicated that Kerala would not take an isolated decision on the issue.
Instead, the government would consult other non-BJP-ruled states that have implemented the PM SHRI scheme and explore whether the programme could be implemented while safeguarding the constitutional rights of states, particularly in matters relating to education.
The ongoing political debate over the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme also saw the UDF government now reviewing the MoU that was signed by the previous LDF government before being put on hold amid mounting concerns.
According to Minister Shamsudeen, a high-level committee headed by the Principal Secretary, General Education Department, had examined the PM SHRI scheme after its launch in September 2022.
Based on its recommendations, the then LDF government conveyed to the Union Ministry of Education that it would take a decision before the 2024-25 academic year.
The LDF government eventually signed the MoU in October 2025.
The immediate consequence was the release of ₹99.27 crore by the Centre towards Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK), a grant that had been withheld during 2025-26.
However, the signing triggered opposition over certain provisions of the agreement.
Responding to these concerns, the then government constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of the former General Education Minister to review the scheme.
On November 12, 2025, Kerala informed the Union Ministry of Education that further action under the signed MoU would remain in abeyance until the committee submitted its report.
The report, however, never came. The Cabinet Sub-Committee neither met nor submitted its findings before the change in government, leaving the MoU in limbo.
The new government says that while the earlier MoU remains on record, no final decision has been taken on implementing the scheme.
Minister Shamsudeen told the Assembly that the Centre has again written to the state on May 8, 2026, seeking Kerala’s decision on the follow-up action under the PM SHRI scheme.
Shamsudeen pointed out that if the PM SHRI scheme is implemented in Kerala, 304 schools across 152 blocks would receive ₹1 crore each over three years, amounting to a total central assistance of ₹912 crore.
When added to the ₹1,151.48 crore already withheld under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, Kerala stands to lose or regain access to more than ₹2,000 crore.
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(Edited by R R Rajesh Kumar.)
