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Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23 (IANS) Kerala on Thursday signed the PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s School for Rising India) project with the Centre, deepening the rift within the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), with the Communist Party of India (CPI) strongly opposing the move ever since it came to light.
CPI is the second largest ally of the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government.
Kerala was represented by the Education Secretary in the MoU signed between the Central and State Governments.
The CPI has consistently raised objections to the plan and has raised the issue three times in cabinet meetings.
The latest developments are expected to further strain relations within the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam has repeatedly confirmed that the party is “strongly opposed” to the project, arguing that the PM SHRI initiative undermines the state’s education policy and could enable “ideological interference” from the Centre.
Party insiders expressed dissatisfaction that despite raising the issue at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Vijayan did not respond to their concerns.
But when Vishwam was asked about the signing of the agreement now, he said on Thursday night that “he has nothing to say at the moment.”
The student wing of CPI also expressed disagreement.
Its leader Bipin Abraham said, “If the report is true, it is against the declared policy of the Left. We will not weaken our stand and will soon announce our next step.”
Meanwhile, the Congress has attacked the state government, alleging that participation in the PM SHRI scheme will lead to “saffronisation” of Kerala’s education system.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan has been warning the Vijayan government that it should not be signed and adopt a stance similar to Tamil Nadu’s resistance to the project.
However, the Center has assured that the estimated Rs 1,500 crore stuck funds of Samagra Shiksha Keralam (SSK) will be released after the signing.
Launched in September 2022 under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the PM SHRI project aims to upgrade 14,500 government schools across India to model institutions with a total outlay of Rs 27,000 crore.
–IANS
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