Kerala signs MoU with Education Ministry to join PM SHRI Schools scheme

new delhi: kerala on thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the centre to join the pm shri schools scheme, officials said.after a prolonged period of uncertainty, the kerala government under the left democratic front decided to become a signatory to the central government's pradhan mantri schools for rising india (pm shri) scheme, setting aside objections raised by key coalition partner cpi.the scheme aims to develop infrastructure in two schools from each block with central assistance. each selected school will receive an average annual assistance of rs 1 crore for five years.state education minister v sivankutty confirmed that the decision to join the scheme has been communicated to the centre and that the department secretary has been instructed to sign the agreement.“this was the only way to secure the centre's share of rs 1,500 crore, which is pending for various educational programmes in kerala,” the minister said.although the cpi(m) and the department of general education had agreed earlier to join the pm shri project, the kerala government had to withdraw its decision twice following strong opposition from the cpi.the latest decision to proceed was taken without placing the matter before the state cabinet. initially, the state government had opposed joining the scheme, arguing that it could pave the way for the implementation of the national education policy (nep) in kerala.concerns were also raised over the requirement to display boards identifying schools as pm shri schools.