Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has decided to implement the 'PM SHRI' (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India), a central scheme under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, after objecting to it for three years. The decision follows the state’s announcement to increase the minimum age for Class 1 admission to six years. 

The PM SHRI scheme is designed to develop the basic infrastructure of 14,500 selected schools nationwide. The scheme will include a maximum of two schools (a primary and a secondary) from each BRC (block resource centre).

If implemented, around 336 schools in Kerala will benefit. Each of these schools will receive annual aid ranging from ₹85 lakh to ₹1 crore over a period of five years. While the Centre’s contribution will be 60 per cent of the amount, the state’s share will be 40 per cent. 

Kerala and other opposition-ruled states had refused to join PM SHRI as they would then be forced to implement the NEP. Kerala also objected to the condition to display ‘PM SHRI School’ boards in front of the institutions receiving the funds under the scheme.

The state government yielded to the Centre's demands to join the scheme after the latter denied Kerala its share of funds from national educational programmes. The Centre also imposed financial sanctions on the state, leading to a crisis in the implementation of several Centrally Sponsored educational programmes under Samagra Shiksha Keralam (SSK). 

Kerala’s Education Minister V Sivankutty said that the Centre owes ₹1,186.84 crore to the state in this regard, including ₹280.58 crore for 2023-24 and ₹513.54 crore for the previous academic year. The state also has to receive the first installment for the upcoming academic year, he said. The state changed its stand after realising that its educational schemes could not be implemented without central assistance.

The state Cabinet will likely discuss signing the agreement with the Centre regarding PM SHRI on Wednesday.

Once the state signs the agreement, government schools meeting the stipulations can apply to join PM SHRI, and a state-level committee will select the beneficiary institutions. 

Kerala recently changed the minimum age required for admissions to class 1 following pressure from the Centre. The state also decided to implement other recommendations, such as a ‘holistic progress card.’