Kerala Halts PM SHRI Scheme Amid Ally Pressure
New Delhi: The government of Kerala has put on hold the rollout of the PM SHRI Scheme – a Government of India initiative that aims to upgrade select schools under the National Education Policy, 2020 – following objections from its ally, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the New Indian Express has reported.
According to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a seven-member cabinet sub-committee, chaired by education minister V. Sivankutty, will be constituted to review the implementation of the scheme in the state. “All further proceedings under the scheme will remain suspended until the panel submits its report,” he said, according to the newspaper.
The CPI’s objection revolves around the ideology, it says, that underpins the PM SHRI scheme's rollout in Kerala. The government of Kerala signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union government related to the upgradation of schools, but it happened amid concerns within the ruling Left Democratic Front government that it would pave the way for the “RSS agenda” to influence education in the state.
The Kerala government has rejected this claim, but put off PM SHRI, at least for now.
Beyond the immediate controversy, this development reflects a deeper faultline in India’s federal architecture. An analysis published recently in The Wire argued that the way schemes like PM SHRI were being implemented is symptomatic of a larger techno-financial regime, through which the Union can centralise control: states must sign MoUs, align their treasury and monitoring systems and accept terms set by the Union before funds can flow to states to implement even crucial education schemes.
In this view, the Kerala dispute is not only about education policy or ideology but about the erosion of state autonomy and the shift away from once-promised cooperative federalism. State governments have increasingly raised their voice against being denied funds by the Union government, including for schemes such as the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, or SSA, an education scheme that the Union and states jointly fund.
The government of Kerala has often complained that it is being denied SSA funds that are due to it from the Union exchequer, and there have been multiple reports that the funds were assured if it would sign the MoU on PM SHRI. The dispute, which is not isolated to Kerala, has even reached the Supreme Court.
To be sure, the Kerala government has not withdrawn from the MoU with the Union government or cancelled implementation, but decided to set up a committee to review its functioning.
The scrutiny of PM-SHRI is bound to continue in Kerala over a variety of issues, but the outcome will determine whether states demand more meaningful policy space – whether through dialogue with the Union government or in courts.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
