Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala may implement ‘PM-Shri School’ (Prime Minister’s School for Rising India) under pressure from the central government. Rani George, Principal secretary of the department of general education, has sent a letter to the central education secretary Sanjay Kumar stating that the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) can be signed before the start of the next academic year. With this, Kerala was forced to implement the National Education Policy (NEP), despite its previous stance. 

PM-Shri school takes care of the implementation of NEP. A financial assistance of at least Rs 1 crore will be provided to demonstrate excellence within a specific period. The responsibility of the implementation of this scheme comes under the purview of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA). States were required to sign a separate memorandum for this. However, owing to a dispute over NEP, Kerala was initially not ready for this.

While Kerala continued to receive financial assistance as part of SSA scheme, the centre expressed displeasure over the non-implementation of PM-Shri for political reasons. Finally, the assistance offered as part of Sarva Shiksha Kerala (SSK) was also withheld.

The central share of SSK was Rs 328.83 crore in the last financial year. Of this, the third and fourth instalments amounting to Rs 167.94 crore is yet to be received. The centre has taken a stand that the amount will not be paid if PM-Shri is not implemented. With this, the state agreed to implement the scheme in the coming academic year. The centre was also informed that a committee has been formed for the same under the leadership of the principal secretary.

The political challenge is that the state will need to make peace with the centre’s branding and changes as part of the NEP policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name and picture will be displayed on PM-Shri schools. The name of the school will be changed to PM-Shri. It is estimated that more than 150 schools in Kerala are eligible for PM-Shri.

Earlier Kerala had opposed many projects in the name of branding. Although it did not give in to branding as part of Life Mission, it compromised in case of health centres. The union ministry of education hailed Kerala’s participation in PM-Shri, calling it a demonstration of strong centre-state relations.