Kerala’s decision to freeze PM SHRI scheme has only 'paper value': George Kurian

Kochi: Union Minister George Kurian on Friday said the Kerala government’s decision to issue a letter seeking to freeze further procedures under the PM SHRI scheme signed with the Centre will have only "paper value".

The state government has frozen the MoU signed by it with the centre following a disagreement by the LDF ally, CPI, over the matter.

Kurian compared the move to state Assemblies passing ordinances against laws enacted by Parliament, and said the final decision on the matter would be taken by the Union Education Ministry.

He said the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP). "Let the state government claim they have won. They don’t want the saffron money," he said.

Stressing that both NEP and PM SHRI are central initiatives, Kurian said their implementation depends on the state. "The state should not put the future of children at stake. School students are citizens of the country and have the right to education. The state government cannot block it," he said in Kochi.

He alleged that by freezing the PM SHRI scheme, the state government is depriving students from poor families of opportunities.

Kurian said the NEP-based curriculum focuses on skill enhancement. "From Class 6, students are given vocational training and taught about manufacturing processes. From Class 9 onwards, they receive skill-based training, and by Class 12, they acquire skills for self-employment or various vocations," he said.

He added that there should be no concerns regarding the curriculum after signing up for the PM SHRI scheme, as education comes under the Concurrent List.

"The NCERT only provides a broad framework for the curriculum. It is the SCERT that decides the state’s syllabus," the minister said.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Kerala has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the state government’s request to freeze the MoU signed with regard to PM SHRI be dismissed.

In the letter, ABVP claimed that the state government’s decision is purely political and is against students' interests.

The letter seeks the Prime Minister's intervention to ensure the scheme's benefits reach the students who need them most.