Overview
- Kerala’s General Education Minister told the state Assembly on Monday that the memorandum of understanding does not allow the state to unilaterally withdraw from the Centre’s PM SHRI scheme.
- The minister put the financial exposure at more than ₹2,000 crore, combining roughly ₹900–1,000 crore for 304 selected PM SHRI schools and about ₹1,151.48 crore linked to Samagra Shiksha funding.
- Officials say the signed MoU vests termination rights only with the Centre, which the minister warned could also withhold other education grants if the state does not comply.
- The incoming UDF government has set up a ministerial sub-committee to examine legal, financial and policy options and is prioritising steps to secure central funds while it considers next moves.
- PM SHRI’s plan to fund one primary and one secondary school in each of Kerala’s 152 local self-government blocks under a 60:40 Centre-state split has fuelled concerns about state curriculum autonomy and earlier objections that the scheme could enable ideological influence.