At a Cabinet meeting held on 9 April, a decision on the scheme was deferred after, it was said that, CPI ministers sought more clarity on the conditions attached to the MoU the state would need to sign.
Published May 01, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated May 01, 2025 | 9:02 AM
Children with textbooks for upcoming academic year. pic courtesy - V Sivankutty FB page
Synopsis: It is said that the state government is facing an unprecedented funding freeze in the school education sector, with officials alleging that the MoE is indirectly withholding allocations for the SSA to pressure the state into implementing the National Education Policy.
The Union government tightening the purse strings to stifle dissenting states is not new. A few states have felt the squeeze like Kerala.
In the latest flashpoint, it is being alleged that funds for Kerala’s Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) scheme have been mysteriously hold up.
The reason for this alleged act of financial retaliation? The state’s refusal to play along with the Centre’s much-hyped PM-SHRI (Schools for Rising India) scheme.
The move has reignited the ever-simmering debate over the Centre’s coercive fiscal tactics against Opposition-ruled states.
But this time, the fire isn’t just between Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram — it is burning within Kerala’s own Left Democratic Front (LDF). The CPI and CPI(M) are openly sparring over just how far the state should go in defying New Delhi’s diktats.
It was in 2018-19 that the SSK, an integrated scheme was launched to transform school education from pre-primary to Class 12.
PM SHRI at the state level
According to the state General Education Department (GED), the scheme merges the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Teacher Education (TE) programmes, aiming to provide quality education, bridge social and gender gaps, and ensure equitable learning outcomes.
The scheme focuses on universal access, inclusive and digital education, vocational training, teacher development, infrastructure, and the implementation of the RTE Act, making schooling holistic and outcome-driven.
Whereas, in the case of PM SHRI Schools, a centrally-sponsored initiative of the Union Ministry of Education (MoE), it envisions over 14,500 model schools across India, managed by central, state, and local bodies.
According to the MoE, these schools are designed to embody the principles of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, offering inclusive, modern, and resource-rich learning environments.
However, as per MoE data, only 47 schools — 33 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 14 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas — have been included from the state so far, with no primary, upper primary, secondary, or higher secondary schools under the scheme yet.
It is said that the state government is facing an unprecedented funding freeze in the school education sector, with officials alleging that the MoE is indirectly withholding allocations for the SSA to pressure the state into implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
PM SHRI at the national level.
“The Ministry isn’t saying it officially, but the stark reality is that funds for Samagra Shiksha have been frozen,” an official with the GED told South First.
“This has severely affected crucial areas like distribution of uniforms, textbooks, and support for differently-abled children. The message is clear — unless we fall in line with NEP 2020, the funds won’t be released,” added the official.
Kerala has consistently objected to the NEP, claiming it undermines social equity, curbs democratic access to education, and promotes a Vedic belief system incompatible with Constitutional values and contemporary pluralism.
In the case of centrally sponsored PM SHRI schools — envisioned as model schools to showcase NEP implementation — the Centre has insisted on state participation.
But Kerala officials argue that the Centre is using financial leverage to push its policy agenda.
“By freezing funds, the Union government is committing grave violations of the Right to Education provisions,” the official added.
Earlier, a Parliamentary Standing Committee has pulled up the MoE over the non-release of SSA funds to West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, and recommended that pending dues amounting to over ₹4,000 crore be cleared without delay.
Tabling its report in the Rajya Sabha on 16 April, the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports expressed serious concern that the Centre had withheld SSA funds from these states for not signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the PM SHRI schools scheme — a flagship initiative under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
According to the panel, West Bengal is owed over ₹1,000 crore, Kerala ₹859.63 crore, and Tamil Nadu ₹2,152 crore under SSA. It noted that while 33 out of 36 States and Union Territories had signed the MoU and were developing PM SHRI schools, the decision to link SSA fund disbursals with MoU compliance was unjustified.
The committee reminded the Education Ministry that the SSA predates PM SHRI and was designed to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act, a law that ensures free and compulsory education as a fundamental right.
“SSA, which enforces the RTE, cannot be subordinated to the NEP, which is merely an executive policy,” the report observed.
The panel flagged that states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal — known for educational achievements and Gross Enrolment Ratios above the national average — had faced operational challenges due to funding delays. These states were forced to dip into their own resources to pay teachers and manage infrastructure.
It urged the Centre to immediately release the withheld funds and ensure future SSA allocations remain independent of NEP or PM SHRI scheme compliance.
Another point of contention is the proliferation of centrally-sponsored schemes in education, each demanding a 40 percent cost-sharing from financially strapped states like Kerala.
A PM SHRI school in Jammu and Kashmir.
Alongside Samagra Shiksha and PM SHRI, the Centre has rolled out schemes like PM JANMAN (for tribal education) and PM YUVA (for youth skills).
“The Finance Commission had already warned against having multiple centrally sponsored schemes in a single sector, citing fiscal impracticality,” an official with Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) noted.
“But now the Centre is launching schemes for political mileage while expecting states to bear a significant financial burden they simply can’t afford. If these are their schemes, they should bear 100 percent of the expense,” added the official.
Interestingly, while there was widespread dissent over NEP and PM SHRI, schemes like PM POSHAN (rebranded from the state’s mid-day meal programme) continue without much protest.
Officials attribute this to the branding issue being the focal point of opposition.
“The resistance isn’t just about policy — it’s about political symbolism and control over narratives in the education sector,” another official said.
Officials also pointed to Tamil Nadu’s legal battle over NEP-linked fund freezes.
While Tamil Nadu initially agreed to implement parts of NEP, it later chose the legal route as funds under Samagra Shiksha had already been provisioned in its state budget.
“Kerala, unfortunately, doesn’t have that financial leeway,” an SSK official admitted. “Given our current fiscal stress, a prolonged legal fight might not be feasible.”
The state will formally raise the issue of the Union government withholding education funds at the upcoming Governing Council meeting of the NCERT in New Delhi on Friday, 2 May.
Children with uniform cloth for the next academic year.
Minister for General Education V Sivankutty, who will represent the state, termed the withholding of funds as a “blatant violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.”
In a strong statement on 28 April, Sivankutty said, “Withholding the education funds to be given by the Centre to SSK cannot be justified. It is a fund meant for children from the lowest strata of society. The RTE Act clearly mandates the provision of central funds for educational purposes.”
The dispute is closely linked to the Centre’s flagship PM-SHRI scheme.
While Kerala had earlier expressed reservations over certain clauses in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) required for its implementation, it is said that the state had expressed willingness to join the scheme after a detailed report from a committee headed by then General Education Principal Secretary Rani George reviewed all conditions.
The minister also maintained that the state government does not wish to lose its rightful share of central funds for school education and has repeatedly said that students should not suffer for any reason.
According to Sivankutty, the Centre currently owes Kerala ₹1,186.84 crore under various education schemes — including ₹280.58 crore for 2023-24 and ₹513.54 crore for the previous academic year.
The state has not received the final two instalments of the Union government’s share under the Samagra Shiksha scheme for 2023-24 and 2024-25. In the absence of these funds, salaries for Samagra Shiksha staff in Kerala are being advanced from the state’s own funds.
Kerala was informed that an assurance on signing the MoU for PM-SHRI was required for releasing the funds. Though a letter was sent by the state government immediately, the funds continued to be withheld on technical grounds.
In August 2024, Kerala had officially refuted a claim made by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament that the funds were blocked because the state had not met conditions. At an offline review meeting in July, the Ministry of Education’s own presentation had acknowledged that Kerala had complied with all conditions, but noted in the remarks section that the PM-SHRI MoU was yet to be signed.
Interestingly, the state government points out that it has never received any written communication from the Centre stating that fund release is contingent on signing the PM-SHRI agreement — these demands were reportedly conveyed only through verbal instructions.
For the 2024-25 financial year, Kerala is eligible for ₹1,432.71 crore under Samagra Shiksha, with ₹859.63 crore as the Centre’s share. However, no instalments have been released so far. The only exception is ₹80.75 crore released under the STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) project.
The education minister has called this selective fund release unfair and detrimental to children’s education, especially those from marginalised communities.
The implementation of the PM SHRI scheme has triggered a political drama within the ruling LDF, following objections from the CPI.
At a Cabinet meeting held on 9 April, a decision on the scheme was deferred after, it was said that, CPI ministers sought more clarity on the conditions attached to the MoU the state would need to sign.
The CPI expressed apprehensions about the scheme’s alignment with the NEP and its implications.
The Union government has withheld nearly ₹1,500 crore due to Kerala under the flagship Samagra Shiksha scheme for 2024-25, citing the state’s delay in signing the MoU.
While the Centre insists that PM SHRI schools are model institutions for NEP implementation, critics in Kerala are wary of indirectly endorsing central policies.
Minister Sivankutty indicated the state’s willingness to implement the scheme to avoid denying funds meant for students from marginalised sections. He also pointed out that similar central schemes are already being implemented in other sectors, including by the CPI-ruled Agriculture Department.
The CPI’s public objection surprised the CPI(M), especially after the former had conceded ground on earlier contentious issues.
Sivankutty, backed by the CPI(M), openly criticised CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam’s stance and offered to clarify doubts through dialogue. The CPI(M) is hopeful the issue will be resolved during upcoming LDF discussions, with the matter expected to return to the cabinet once consensus is reached.
In the end, Kerala’s education funding row underscores the growing strain in Centre-state relations, where financial powers are increasingly wielded as instruments of political leverage. As the LDF grapples with internal divisions and the Union Government holds firm, what hangs in the balance isn’t just policy or pride — but the educational rights of thousands of children.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
