Politics Over PM SHRI: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has hit out at the Kerala government for signing the Centre's PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), calling it a "dangerous compromise" and a "betrayal" of the Left's consistent opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
CPI General Secretary D Raja said his party "cannot and will not" accept the NEP, warning that it promotes "commercialisation, centralisation, and communalisation" of education. Raja added, "We cannot agree to NEP 2020. This is a very dangerous policy. Since the beginning, we have opposed it and cannot succumb to any pressure to accept it."
He confirmed that the CPI had conveyed its objections to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through the party's state secretary Binoy Viswam, who met the Chief Minister earlier in the day. "We asked the Chief Minister to write to the Union Education Ministry to withdraw the MoU and freeze it in the meantime," Raja said, insisting that the CPI was not ready to compromise on its ideological opposition to the policy.
After his meeting with Vijayan, Viswam told reporters, "Our concerns remain unresolved. The discussion was cordial, but no solution has been found. We will decide our next step later."
The CPI leader dismissed Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty's justification that the MoU was signed only to secure central funds and that the state government would remain in full control of its curriculum. "It is not true at all," Raja said. "One should study the NEP properly. The Union government is centralising everything and snatching away the rights of the states. Tamil Nadu went to the Supreme Court for funds. Why couldn't Kerala do the same?"
He accused the BJP and RSS of using the NEP to "change the character of Indian education" and "communalise the curriculum." "We oppose signing the PM SHRI MoU because it is part of the BJP-RSS's NEP 2020 design," he added.
Raja also responded to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's comments in support of the NEP, saying he did not believe Abdullah would "go to the extent of backing" the policy. "He should first fight and get statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. CPI and the Left parties have consistently opposed what the Government of India has done there, including the abrogation of Article 370. We have been demanding the restoration of statehood. What power has he got? What power does the assembly have? Democracy cannot be made into a bogus joke," he said.
Amid growing tensions within Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF), Raja said the CPI's position was firm but not disruptive. "The Chief Minister should consider our position and decide. We haven't broken the alliance. We are part of the LDF and a very reasonable party. Let us wait for a day or two now," he said.
The CPI had earlier opposed the MoU in two Cabinet meetings, arguing that the scheme ties states to the controversial NEP. However, the government defended its decision, saying financial constraints made it necessary to participate in the centrally sponsored scheme.
Amid the political row, Union Minister George Kurian praised Kerala as "one of the fastest states" to implement the NEP noting that the Chief Minister had directed Vice Chancellors to roll out reforms as early as June 2023. "Kerala universities have already adopted the four-year undergraduate programme, and with the PM SHRI MoU now signed, school-level implementation will move forward swiftly. There's no need for confusion-the rest is political," Kurian said.
Kerala had indicated its willingness to sign the MoU early on in March 2024, as per the education ministry. Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Sanjay Kumar, also clarified that the PM SHRI scheme does not compel states to adopt the NEP-recommended syllabus.