Keralam reconsiders PM SHRI scheme as Centre seeks implementation clarity
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Thiruvananthapuram: The PM SHRI school scheme has once again become a contentious issue in Keralam after the Centre sought clarification from the state government on its implementation.
General Education Minister N. Shamsuddeen said the latest communication from the Centre had been received by the Chief Secretary. He added that the government would hold consultations before deciding its next course of action.
“The Chief Minister will discuss the issue at the government level and within the front and convey the stand. I cannot take a stand on my own,” Shamsuddeen said.
The minister said the state could either reject the scheme outright or agree to implement it with certain conditions. The final decision will be taken after discussions led by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, he added.
The issue has also been discussed within the Congress leadership. While some leaders have favoured abandoning the scheme, Satheesan is understood to have noted that withdrawing from it completely could be difficult.
The PM SHRI scheme had earlier triggered a political controversy during the tenure of the previous LDF government led by Pinarayi Vijayan. Keralam signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre in 2025, but the decision drew criticism from within the Left Democratic Front.
The CPI, the second-largest constituent of the LDF, strongly opposed the agreement, alleging that it had been signed without sufficient consultations. Following the backlash, the previous government suspended the implementation process and appointed a Cabinet sub-committee to review the matter.
The current UDF government is now facing a similar dilemma. The UDF had opposed the scheme both before and after the elections, with Satheesan, who was then the Leader of the Opposition, leading the criticism of the earlier agreement.
However, Shamsuddeen said the state also had to consider the financial implications of its decision. He said Keralam was owed around Rs 2,000 crore by the Centre, including funds under the Samagra Shiksha Keralam programme.
“Keralam’s funds should not be withheld in the name of PM SHRI. We have told the Union Minister this,” he said.
The Centre has maintained that Keralam entered into the PM SHRI agreement in October 2025. The state later requested that the scheme’s implementation be kept in abeyance.
With the Centre’s latest letter, the issue has returned to the centre of Keralam’s political debate, forcing the Satheesan government to weigh its earlier opposition to the scheme against the state’s pending financial claims.
(Inputs from IANS)