Among the many challenges the soon-to-be United Democratic Front (UDF) government will face in the school education sector, none will be as daunting and closely watched as the Union government’s controversial PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal wasting no time in signing an agreement to implement Prime Minister SHRI after coming to power after the Assembly elections, all eyes are on Kerala, one of the states that has held out so far, apart from Tamil Nadu.
The stance of the UDF government on signing the scheme is yet to be seen, especially as the erstwhile Left Democratic Front (LDF) has been trying to save face after disagreements within the front on the issue came to light.
After refusing to sign an MoU with the Union government for three years citing ideological opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP), the LDF government signed the agreement in October last year only to see ally Communist Party of India (CPI) claim it was kept in the dark about the landmark decision.
Soon after the agreement was signed, the Union government approved Samagra Shiksha funds of ₹ 92.41 crore payable to the state for 2025-26.
Defer
However, facing a split in the ruling coalition, the government has decided to shelve the deal temporarily until a cabinet sub-committee chaired by former general education minister V Sivankutty studies the implementation of the scheme.
Further inflow of funds from the Union government stopped as soon as communication was sent from the state to freeze the regime. From 2023-24, the Union Government has withheld nearly ₹1,100 crore from the Samagra Shiksha funds.
Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Union Ministry of Education, recently wrote to Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak pointing out the delay in the implementation of the scheme.
In the letter, Mr. Kumar said there was a delay in the selection of state government schools under the scheme, which in turn prevented the benefits from reaching the students.
A Union ministry official expressed hope that the matter had been resolved and called for early implementation of the plan, which is nearing the end of its five-year duration.
The LDF then claimed that as the Union government had linked the funds to the implementation of the scheme, it was the only way to ensure the outstanding funds.
The UDF is likely to face the same pressure. Chief Minister-designate VD Satheesan criticized the LDF for capitulating to the Union government’s pressure by signing up for the scheme, which he claimed was an “ideological project to instill majoritarian nationalism” in students.
With even payment of salaries to Samagra Shiksha employees difficult due to lack of funds, the UDF has its work cut out for it in the coming months.
Published – 16 May 2026 20:11 IST
