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Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 25 (IANS) KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Saturday said the Pinarayi Vijayan government is turning Kerala schools into laboratories to implement the Centre’s “saffronisation experiment” through participation in the PM SHRI scheme.
He said the inclusion of schools under the PM SHRI project is the result of a “secret understanding” between the CPI(M) and the BJP.
“It is a serious lapse that Left Front ministers and even CPI(M) ministers came to know about the MoU only through the media. This shows that there is no collective responsibility in the cabinet,” he said.
Joseph demanded that the Chief Minister clarify why the Cabinet’s earlier decision to take legal action against the Centre’s unilateral move to impose PM SHRI was reversed.
“The government, which had strongly opposed the scheme from the beginning, came on board immediately after the Chief Minister met the Prime Minister on the 10th of this month. The people of Kerala have the right to know what was the deal struck between them,” he said.
He further alleged that the state government’s reluctance to legally challenge the Centre’s stand stemmed from fear of the BJP.
He said, “Just as the Center implemented the National Education Policy (NEP) without parliamentary debate, the MoU was signed by PM Shri keeping both the Cabinet and LDF allies in the dark. By doing so, the Pinarayi government has effectively accepted the NEP.”
Joseph said this capitulation would undermine Kerala’s democratic, secular and pluralistic educational traditions, promoting instead a religiously driven, centralized, saffronised policy framework.
As per the agreement, Kerala will have to implement all the provisions of the 2020 NEP under PM Shri.
“Once signed, only the Center can back out from it. By 2027, even if no further funds are provided, all PM SHRI schools will come under the control of the central government,” Joseph said.
He demanded that CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby and the Chief Minister explain the change in the party’s stand on the NEP, which had earlier been condemned as unconstitutional and communal.
“By accepting NEP funds, the Vijayan government has snatched away the future of Kerala’s children in exchange for a fistful of silver,” he said.
–IANS
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