Overview
- The UDF Cabinet decided on Wednesday to stay in the Centre’s PM SHRI school-upgrade programme and created a four‑member ministerial sub‑committee to study implementation and draft terms for talks with New Delhi.
- Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan said the government will implement PM SHRI only if the Union agrees not to interfere in Kerala’s curriculum and allows the state to choose which schools are covered.
- Satheesan has told reporters the state has already received roughly Rs 90–99 crore under the scheme and that further sums have been sanctioned, a claim senior LDF figures contest by saying the previous government had put the project in abeyance.
- Officials and ministers point to withheld Samagra Shiksha funds and a severe resource shortfall as the practical reason for engagement, with the finance portfolio warning the state must mobilise large sums to meet its development plans.
- The decision has prompted sharp political backlash from the CPI(M), which calls it a U‑turn and alleges a Congress–BJP understanding, while the BJP blames both fronts for delaying school upgrades; the sub‑committee’s report and talks with other non‑BJP states will shape the next steps before the Revised Budget.