7 months ago
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The communicative truthful far: In a melodramatic U-turn, Kerala which, on with Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, had refused to motion a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementing the Centrally sponsored acquisition strategy PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India), has present go a signatory to it. PM SHRI schools are designed to showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) that Kerala has criticised fiercely from the outset.
What is PM SHRI?
Launched successful 2022, the PM SHRI aims astatine creating 14,500 exemplar institutions crossed the state that showcase assorted aspects of the NEP. It has a full outlay of ₹27,360 crore (₹18,128 crore arsenic Central share) for 5 years. A full of 33 States/Union Territories had signed the MoU with the Union Ministry of Education for implementing the scheme. With Kerala joining them, the fig is 34. Only Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are yet to ink the agreement.
Why is Kerala opposed to the NEP?
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities successful Kerala believes the Union Government is enforcing the NEP astatine the behest of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) right-wing agenda. It is of the sentiment that the NEP is exclusionary and volition pb to communalising of education, its commercialisation and privatisation, and centralisation of powers successful the sector. Secularism, technological thought, and Constitutional values volition endure nether the policy. These fears person lone been heightened by attempts to “rewrite the country’s history” by the Union Government.
Why did Kerala ink the PM SHRI statement now?
The Union Government had withheld ₹456.01 crore owed to Kerala nether the flagship Samagra Shiksha acquisition strategy for the 2025-26 fiscal twelvemonth arsenic it had not joined the PM SHRI initiative.
The State is besides yet to get ₹513.54 crore for 2024-25 and ₹188.58 crore for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Altogether, this comes to ₹1,158.13 crore.
Kerala Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty says astir 40 lakh students from marginalised sections who be authorities and aided schools are straight affected by the Union Government’s determination of withholding acquisition funds. Benefits to astir 5.6 lakh Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students and peculiar support, therapies, and assistive devices for 1.8 lakh otherwise abled students person been disrupted. It has besides affected escaped azygous and textbook distribution; allowances for pistillate students; pre-primary education; teacher training; and behaviour of examinations.
The PM SHRI strategy volition tally till March 2027. By signing the MoU for PM SHRI, the State volition get arrears owed to Samagra Shiksha Kerala and 2 years of PM SHRI funds, which totals ₹1,476.13 crore, according to the State. Post-agreement, the Samagra Shiksha Kerala has been assured of ₹971 crore.
How does the Kerala Government explicate the displacement from holding retired to becoming a signatory to PM SHRI?
Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has described the determination a tactical determination designed to flooded withholding of schoolhouse acquisition funds by the Union Government.
The Minister says the Kerala Government is not acceptable to springiness up connected funds for Samagra Shiksha and different projects, particularly erstwhile the State is facing a fiscal crunch.
The Union Government had declared backmost successful October 2022 that the nonsubjective of the Samagra Shiksha strategy is to assistance instrumentality the NEP. However, the State had continued to person Central funds till 2023. During that duration, it had implemented schemes ensuring the State’s interests and acquisition principles. There volition beryllium nary deviation from this position, helium has argued.
Does this mean the State’s stance connected the NEP has changed?
The Minister says Kerala volition proceed its combat against the Union Government argumentation of implementing the RSS docket done education. However, helium has besides added that the State cannot proceed to reason the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 forever.
He cites the illustration of Kerala’s Higher Education Department which signed up for the PM-USHA strategy connected the information that the NEP volition beryllium implemented. However, the State had continued to travel its imaginativeness successful the higher acquisition sector. Not adjacent 30% of the Central argumentation had been implemented, helium argued.
The State Government argues it has implemented NEP provisions specified arsenic those connected pre-primary education, teacher empowerment, 100% enrolment, and three-language look overmuch earlier the argumentation came into being.
How does it respond to concerns implicit communalising the program if NEP is implemented?
The authorities argues the State’s program is decided by it. The NEP besides mentions that the States volition hole their ain curricula. Textbooks readied aft the caller program revision successful the State upheld secular, democratic, scientific, and Constitutional values.
What does the authorities accidental astir MoU clause that States volition instrumentality NEP provisions successful entirety?
The authorities argues that according to the MoU, PM SHRI schools tin travel State program frameworks developed successful accordance with caller curricular and pedagogical operation of the NEP. The Kerala Curriculum Framework (KCF) 2023 was framed by incorporating each changes astatine the nationalist level. The program revision has been implemented successful the State successful accordance with the KCF and textbooks published by it. However, immoderate NEP proviso that the goes against the State’s interests volition not beryllium implemented.
Why has the Communist Party of India, an LDF conjugation partner, opposed the signing of the MoU?
The CPI has consistently opposed the signing of the MoU. The contented had travel up successful the State Cabinet twice, but a determination had been enactment off. In a abrupt move, the General Education Department has present inked the MoU, leaving the CPI fuming astir being kept successful the dark.
