Thiruvananthapuram: Senior CPI(M) leader and former General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Monday hit out at the Kerala government for spreading "misinformation" regarding the Centre's PM SHRI scheme and alleged that the ruling UDF was attempting to implement the project despite earlier opposing it.
In a Facebook post, Sivankutty said when the Left was in power, the state had not received any funds under the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme as its implementation had never commenced in Kerala.
"The state General Education Minister's claim that Kerala received funds under PM SHRI is a blatant lie. Kerala has not started the scheme and has not received even a single rupee for it," he said.
His reaction came days after the present General Education Minister N Samsudheen had said that the present government was in a continuation of the previous administration, which had signed the agreement with the Centre and received funds under the scheme.
"The previous government had signed the agreement and accepted the funds. So, we will examine the report before taking a final decision," Samsudheen, also a leader of the IUML, had said.
Explaining the process for implementing the scheme, Sivankutty said it involved signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU), identification of eligible schools through the designated portal, and submission of a list of selected schools to the Union Education Ministry for approval before funds could be sought.
According to him, the previous LDF government signed the MoU only after the Centre allegedly linked the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) programme to participation in PM SHRI.
However, he said the state later decided to freeze the agreement after finding that the scheme could be used to impose provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP), which the LDF opposed.
"The state had formally informed the Centre that the PM SHRI agreement was being frozen. That is why no further steps were taken," he said.
Sivankutty also claimed that the Rs 92.41 crore released to Samagra Shiksha Kerala was not PM SHRI funding but an amount adjusted by the Centre from reimbursement dues payable under the Right to Education Act.
He claimed that the previous government had met educational welfare commitments using funds from the state exchequer when central assistance was withheld.
Accusing the UDF of adopting contradictory positions, the CPI(M) leader said the Congress-led front had opposed the scheme while in opposition but was now attempting to move ahead with it.
"The UDF government is trying to proceed with PM SHRI by distorting facts. It is becoming clear that the state government has surrendered to the Sangh Parivar agenda," he alleged.
The PM SHRI scheme has continued to trigger political sparring in Kerala.
While leaders of the ruling UDF have said a final decision would be taken only after detailed discussions, the opposition LDF has accused the government of adopting double standards on the issue.
Health Minister K Muraleedharan and senior IUML leader P M A Salam on Sunday said the UDF would take a decision on the scheme after extensive consultations within the front.
However, CPI leader and former minister G R Anil accused the UDF of attempting to implement it citing silly reasons which, according to him, was double standard.
The previous CPI(M)-led LDF government had come under criticism after signing an MoU with the Centre to implement the PM SHRI scheme. However, it later put the scheme on hold following objections from coalition partner CPI.
The CPI had argued that PM SHRI could facilitate the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), which it alleged reflected the ideological agenda of the RSS, while the General Education Department maintained that joining the scheme was necessary to secure central assistance.
The Congress-led UDF, then in the opposition, had also criticised the LDF government's decision to sign the agreement.
With the present UDF government yet to take a clear stand on the scheme's implementation, PM SHRI continues to remain a politically contentious issue in the state.
The PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme is a centrally sponsored initiative launched on September 7, 2022, to upgrade over 14,500 existing government schools into model institutions that showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
