West Bengal to implement PM SHRI initiative after four years

New Delhi: Almost four years after the scheme was launched, owing to a change in government, West Bengal has finally decided to implement the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme. On Friday, a memorandum of understanding was signed in the presence of the Secretary of the union education ministry’s School Education and Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar and Additional Secretaries of the government of West Bengal Dheeraj Sahu and Binod Kumar.

“Aligned with the vision of NEP 2020, this initiative focuses on transforming existing schools into model institutions of excellence. These schools will serve as exemplary schools, guiding and supporting other nearby schools to enhance learning outcomes, innovation and holistic education,” the ministry posted on X.

Last week, a senior ministry official told DH that they will write letters to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal to urge the respective governments to sign MoUs so that state-run schools can roll out the scheme soon. Kerala had signed the MoU in 2025, but eventually did not implement the scheme. It remains unclear whether Tamil Nadu and Kerala will sign the MoUs, too.

Over the years, the Centre has been at loggerheads with the former Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government and the outgoing DMK government in Tamil Nadu with both states refusing to sign the MoU. Under the PM-SHRI scheme, the Centre’s aim is to develop over 14,500 schools as model schools. Ministry officials had said that they will ask West Bengal to also implement the adult literacy scheme ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society).

With these Opposition-ruled states refusing to implement the Centre’s schemes, the ministry had halted the release of Samagra Shiksha funds to states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, and Punjab during the 2024-25 financial year under the PM-Shri scheme. A senior ministry official said that if these states sign the MoU now, they are entitled to the backlog funds.