General Education Minister N. Shamsudheen told the Kerala Assembly on Monday, 29 June that the state has no legal avenue to exit the Centre's PM SHRI school development scheme, warning that withdrawal would cost Kerala nearly ₹2,000 crore in forfeited Central funds. Shamsudheen squarely blamed the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for signing what he described as a one-sided agreement that gives only the Centre the right to terminate the pact.

The Financial Trap

Shamsudheen laid out the financial stakes in stark terms. Pulling out of the PM SHRI programme would mean forfeiting close to ₹1,000 crore earmarked for the development of 304 selected government schools across 152 blocks in Kerala. Beyond that, the state also risks losing ₹1,151.48 crore due under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.

'The Centre has, in the past, withheld funds legitimately due to Kerala. There is every possibility that other grants, too, could be affected if the state backs out of the agreement,' the minister told the House.

What the LDF Government Signed

According to Shamsudheen, the previous LDF administration signed the agreement under duress — fearing that a refusal would trigger a broader freeze on Central assistance to the state. He alleged, however, that the agreement was executed without any meaningful stakeholder consultations or preparatory groundwork.

'There is nothing on record to show that the previous government held discussions with stakeholders or undertook any preparatory exercise before signing the agreement. Even the ministerial sub-committee constituted by the LDF government to examine the scheme did not meet even once,' he said.

This comes amid a broader pattern of Centre-state friction over education policy, with Kerala having long guarded its autonomy over school curriculum and pedagogy.

UDF's Reservations on Curriculum Autonomy

The minister reiterated the United Democratic Front (UDF) government's objections to specific provisions of the PM SHRI scheme, particularly those touching on curriculum control and academic autonomy. 'What is taught in schools should remain the prerogative of the state. Such issues demanded wider consultations before entering into a binding agreement,' Shamsudheen said.

Notably, the UDF has inherited both the agreement and the political liability that comes with it — a situation the minister acknowledged directly, saying the present government is now 'exploring ways to safeguard Kerala's interests without sacrificing crucial Central assistance.'

LDF Fires Back

Former Education Minister and veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader V. Sivankutty, who was present in the Assembly when the minister made his statement, pushed back sharply. Sivankutty accused the Muslim League and the Congress party — the two pillars of the UDF — of implementing a scheme that the previous Left government had reportedly frozen after identifying potential risks to the state's educational autonomy.

The exchange underscores a deepening political fault line in Kerala over the PM SHRI scheme, with both the ruling UDF and the opposition LDF seeking to assign blame while the state's public school system waits for clarity on fund flows. The government's next move — whether to renegotiate terms with the Centre or absorb the scheme as-is — is expected to shape Kerala's education policy heading into the next academic year.