CPI steps up pressure on Kerala govt over move to join PM SHRI scheme

The Communist Party of India (CPI), the second-largest partner in Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), on Wednesday sharpened its opposition to the state government’s decision to join the Centre’s PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme, exposing a growing rift within the coalition.

The criticism came a day after general education minister V. Sivankutty announced that Kerala would participate in the Central initiative, which aims to upgrade selected schools across the country into “model institutions”.

The announcement, however, sparked a political storm as the scheme is closely linked to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — an initiative that Left parties have consistently opposed, describing it as a vehicle to promote the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ideological agenda in education.

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam, speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, reiterated that the NEP would “not be implemented in Kerala under any circumstances”. He said the PM SHRI scheme could not be viewed in isolation from the NEP, as “the designated Central funds are conditional upon the full implementation of the policy”.

“The CPI(M) general-secretary, M.A. Baby, has already made it categorically clear that the NEP will not be implemented in Kerala,” Viswam said. “The CPI shares this position. We believe the PM SHRI scheme, which reflects the RSS’s educational philosophy, cannot find space in a state like Kerala that values secular and democratic education.”

Viswam added that it would be contradictory for the Left to support any scheme perceived to advance right wing cultural agenda. “The CPI(M) has always been one of the strongest political and ideological opponents of the RSS. Such a party cannot, and should not, lend credibility to its programmes,” he said.

His remarks followed reports that CPI ministers had expressed serious reservations during a recent cabinet meeting, reportedly warning that joining the scheme could amount to legitimising the NEP through the back door.

The PM SHRI scheme, launched in 2022, seeks to transform around 14,500 schools nationwide into “exemplary schools” aligned with the NEP’s vision. These institutions are expected to serve as “laboratories of best practices”, promoting experiential learning and holistic development. States that sign on to the scheme are required to align their curricula and evaluation systems with the NEP — something that Left-ruled Kerala has long resisted, citing concerns that the policy undermines state autonomy and promotes “saffronisation” of education.

The controversy has also provided ammunition to the Congress-led Opposition, which has accused the LDF of hypocrisy. Addressing reporters in Palakkad, leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan urged the government to reject what he termed “communal conditions” attached to Central funding. “If the government intervenes to remove these conditions and still accepts the funds, the Opposition will have no objection. After all, central funds do not belong to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s family,” he said pointedly.

Congress general-secretary (organisation) and Alappuzha MP K.C. Venugopal echoed Satheesan’s criticism, alleging a “tacit understanding” between the CPI(M) and BJP. “Kerala has been witnessing a CPI(M)-BJP deal on several issues. The PM SHRI scheme is only the latest example,” he said, arguing that the decision represented a “deviation from the Left’s declared principles”.

However, the BJP defended the Centre’s programme and accused the Left of fearmongering. Senior party leader and former Union minister V. Muraleedharan said the state government had “no valid reason” to oppose the PM SHRI scheme, calling the CPI(M)’s stance “habitual obstructionism”.

“Children should not be denied a better future just because they are born in Kerala,” Muraleedharan said, urging the Pinarayi Vijayan government to “abandon its double standards” and embrace educational reforms that would benefit students.

Sivankutty, meanwhile, sought to calm tensions, insisting that Kerala’s participation in the scheme would not compromise its existing education model. “We are joining the PM SHRI scheme to secure our rightful share of central funds,” he said, “but the state will not dilute its own education policy or surrender to the NEP framework.”

Still, within the LDF, the debate underscores a familiar fault line — between pragmatism and ideological purity. As the Centre links more funding programmes to its policy initiatives, the Left government in Kerala faces a difficult balancing act: maintaining access to resources while upholding its long-held opposition to what it views as attempts to centralise and communalise education.

For now, the CPI’s firm stand has turned the PM SHRI issue into a test of ideological consistency within the ruling front — and a potential flashpoint in Kerala’s uneasy coexistence of politics and policy.

With PTI inputs