The Union Education Ministry is set to write to Kerala’s Chief Secretary, urging the state to move ahead with implementation of the Centre’s PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme after the Assembly election verdict brought the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to power.

The move comes as the Centre signals renewed optimism over implementation of education initiatives linked to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in states where political equations have shifted after the elections.

According to a senior official in the Ministry of Education, letters seeking early implementation of the PM SHRI scheme will be sent “today or tomorrow”.

“We are hopeful that now states will implement the PM SHRI scheme. We will write to the state chief secretaries for implementation of the PM SHRI scheme,” a senior official said.

Under the scheme, selected schools are to be developed as model institutions aligned with NEP 2020.

Kerala’s PM SHRI process stalled before polls

In Kerala, the issue had remained unresolved under the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

The state government had signed an agreement with the Centre in October 2025, but later kept the implementation process on hold following objections from the Communist Party of India (CPI), an ally in the ruling LDF.

Although Kerala was invited to a meeting to approve the project after signing the agreement, the state did not attend. Instead, it constituted a sub-committee to study the matter further.

The issue had also triggered political exchanges in the state. During the standoff, Kerala Congress leaders criticised the LDF government for signing the agreement with the Centre, despite Congress-ruled states such as Karnataka and Telangana already implementing the PM SHRI scheme.

The Centre had earlier paused or withheld release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan to states including Kerala during the 2024-25 financial year after they did not sign the required MoU for PM SHRI implementation.

The Union government has maintained that signing the MoU is necessary to access funds under the PM SHRI framework, while opposition parties alleged that education grants were being linked to acceptance of NEP and centrally sponsored schemes.

Ministry preparing school mental health policy

The senior official also said the ministry is preparing to place a school-level mental health policy in the public domain soon.

“We will be putting it in the public domain very shortly,” an official said, adding that it is likely to be released in the first week of June.

“A child's mental health is influenced not only by school but also by the home environment. Therefore, it is essential for all to come together and regularly review the child's academic and overall progress,” he said.

The proposed policy is expected to focus on counselling support in schools and early identification of stress among students.