Among the many challenges the soon-to-be-formed United Democratic Front (UDF) government will face in the school education sector, none will be as daunting and keenly watched as the contentious PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme of the Union government.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal not wasting any time in inking the agreement for implementing PM SHRI after coming to power following the Assembly elections, all eyes are on Kerala, one of the States that have held out so far other than Tamil Nadu.

The stance of the UDF government on signing up for the scheme remains to be seen, particularly as the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) was left scrambling to save face in the wake of differences within the front on the issue coming out in the open.

The LDF government, after refusing to sign the memorandum of understanding with the Union government on the grounds of ideological opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) for three years, inked the agreement in October last year, only to see ally Communist Party of India (CPI) alleging it had been kept in the dark about the significant decision.

Soon after the deal was signed, the Union government sanctioned Samagra Shiksha funds to the tune of ₹92.41 crore due to the State for the 2025-26 year.

Put on hold

However, faced with a schism in the ruling coalition, the government decided to put the agreement on hold temporarily till a Cabinet sub-committee, chaired by the former Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty, could study the scheme implementation.

Further inflow of funds from the Union government stopped as soon as communication on freezing the scheme was sent from the State. Nearly ₹1,100 crore of Samagra Shiksha funds have been withheld by the Union government since 2023-24.

Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Union Ministry of Education, recently wrote to Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak highlighting the delay in implementing the scheme.

In the letter, Mr. Kumar said there had been a delay in the selection of State government schools under the scheme which, in turn, was preventing benefits from reaching students.

Expressing hope that the matter had been resolved, the Union Ministry official called for early implementation of the scheme, which is nearing completion of its duration of five years.

The LDF had claimed then that with the Union government linking funds to scheme implementation, it was the only way to secure pending funds.

The UDF too is likely to face the same pressure. Chief Minister-designate V.D. Satheesan had slammed the LDF for capitulating to the Union government’s pressure by signing on to the scheme which, he alleged, was an “ideological project to infuse majoritarian nationalism” into students.

With even payment of salaries for Samagra Shiksha staff becoming difficult owing to lack of funds, the UDF sure has its work cut out in the months ahead.