There is no change in the State government’s stance on the National Education Policy (NEP) even if it has decided to implement the PM Shri (Prime Minister Schools for Rising India) scheme in Kerala, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
The Minister told The Hindu that the government did not want to lose out on arrears for the 2023-24 academic year and the funds for 2024-25 from the Union government. Also, 332 schools in the State would get ₹1,008 crore as Central funds over five years through the implementation of PM Shri.
“We do not want the students here to suffer when those in other States benefit from the funds. However, the PM Shri will not be implemented in its entirety. The report of a State-level committee, with the General Education Principal Secretary as chairperson, constituted for the implementation of the PM Shri will be examined and decision taken on what is acceptable to the State,” he said.
The Minister underlined that the State had not agreed to implement the NEP. However, there was no need to lose out on funds it would get if it were to implement the PM Shri.
If it did not do so, it would lose ₹187.78 crore of Samagra Shiksha funds and ₹165.4 crore through the STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) funds for 2023-24 and ₹385.35 crore and ₹240 crore, respectively, for 2024-25. The Samagra Shiksha funds are used for distribution of uniforms and textbooks to students every year.
Senior officials, however, said the PM Shri was aimed at turning schools into exemplar institutions to fulfil the objectives of NEP, Once the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked, the State was bound to implement PM Shri and could not continue to stick to its anti-NEP stance.
Kerala was among the States reluctant to implement the scheme that would see 14,500 schools strengthened with improved infrastructure, innovative pedagogy, and latest technology owing to its opposition to the NEP. However, the State had to say ‘yes’ once the Union government insisted on it for disbursal of funds.
A communication from the State to the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Union Ministry of Education recently agreed to the signing of the MoU for establishing the PM Shri schools before the coming academic year. It also sought the release of 37.5% of the funds sanctioned for the 2023-24 year.
