Kerala’s ruling coalition had faced a major crisis as the Communist Party of India (CPI) challenged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s unilateral decision to join the PM SHRI scheme. But now, by forming a subcommittee to review the government’s decision to sign an MoU with the Centre for implementing the scheme, the chief minister has brought temporary peace within the Front.
On October 23, K. Vasuki, Secretary of the General Education Department, signed the MoU on behalf of the Kerala government. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala has long opposed the National Education Policy (NEP), describing it as a “centralizing and exclusionary” framework that promotes “saffronization,” corporatization of education, and the erosion of state autonomy. Calling PM SHRI a “backdoor entry” for the NEP, the LDF had resisted signing it so far. However, the Kerala government decided to go ahead after Vijayan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 10.
The MoU was prepared in Delhi on October 16. When the media reported the news, Revenue Minister K. Rajan of the CPI raised questions about it at the cabinet meeting on October 22. Neither Vijayan nor Education Minister V. Sivankutty disclosed that the MoU had already been finalized. CPI and other allies learned about the signing through media reports.
On October 27, the CPI(M) state secretariat discussed the issue and concluded that withdrawing from PM SHRI was no longer feasible, deciding instead to convince the CPI of the circumstances under which it was signed. In the aftermath, the chief minister himself had made reconciliatory efforts, but the CPI remained adamant in its demand for accountability. CPI ministers submitted a protest letter to the chief minister, saying they felt cheated, as a crucial cabinet decision had been kept from them. They also hinted that they would boycott the weekly cabinet meeting in protest.
It is learned that the deadlock was finally broken through the efforts of CPI(M) general secretary M. A. Baby. The CPI(M) and the CM took a step back, and the Cabinet decided to form a subcommittee to review the feasibility of withdrawing from the scheme. Following this, CPI ministers agreed to attend the cabinet meeting.
“Considering the controversies and concerns that arose over the signing of the MoU related to the PM SHRI scheme, the government has decided to conduct a review before implementing the project. A seven-member cabinet subcommittee has been formed to examine the matter and submit a report. Education Minister V. Sivankutty will chair the committee, while K. Rajan, P. Prasad, Roshy Augustine, P. Rajeeve, A. K. Saseendran, and K. Krishnankutty will serve as members,” said the chief minister in the press meet post cabinet meeting.
The chief minister also said that the Centre would be informed through an official letter that the state would not move forward with the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme until the subcommittee’s report is received. Notably, no timeline has been set for the subcommittee to submit its report. And, during Q&A, the chief minister suggested that the panel may delay submission until local body election-related activities are over.
Earlier, when reports emerged that the chief minister would soften his stance, KPCC president Sunny Joseph dismissed it as a mere “temporary tranquilizer” for the CPI—and, indeed, there are reasons to believe the subcommittee itself is exactly that.
Nevertheless, after arriving at this face-saving formula—a cabinet subcommittee to review an MoU that has already been signed—CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said the party had no interest in claiming victory or defeat. “This victory belongs to the LDF. It is a triumph of Left unity,” he said.
Apparently, the chief minister has taken extreme care not to explicitly state that the government would withdraw from the PM SHRI project. A relevant precedent for Kerala is that of the Punjab government. Punjab had signed the PM SHRI MoU in October 2022 but later decided to withdraw, citing its inability to accept the Centre’s school-branding guidelines. The state sought legal advice and was told it had the right to withdraw.
Acting on that advice, Punjab officially informed the Centre in 2023 of its decision to withdraw. However, the Union government maintained that once an MoU was signed, a state could not back out. The Centre subsequently blocked the release of SSA funds to Punjab.
Kerala faces a similar situation. Although PM SHRI was launched in 2022 and Kerala had refused to sign it, the state continued to receive SSA funds until the first half of the 2023–24 financial year. When it sought the third installment for 2023–24, the request was rejected on grounds of non-compliance with PM SHRI. In March 2024, the Kerala government sent an assurance letter stating that it would sign the MoU before the 2024–25 academic year. This was necessary to receive 37.5 per cent of SSA funds sanctioned for 2023–24. However, the government did not fulfil this assurance, and as a result, SSA funds have remained blocked since then.
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In Punjab’s case, facing a severe financial crisis, the government eventually reversed its stance and rejoined the PM SHRI scheme in 2024. As Kerala too reels under intense financial pressure, it is highly likely that the subcommittee will eventually arrive at a similar decision—this time, taking the CPI and other allies into confidence—to maintain the status quo on the PM SHRI MoU and secure the release of the currently blocked SSA funds, as well as future allocations that might otherwise be withheld.
