After Punjab, Delhi relents under school fund freeze, agrees to implement PM-SHRI

The PM-SHRI scheme, with a budget of over `27,000 crore for the next five years — the Centre is supposed to shoulder 60% of the financial burden and the states 40% — aims to upgrade at least 14,500 government schools into “exemplar” institutions to showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. States must confirm their participation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Education Ministry.

Five states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal — are yet to sign the MoU. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala have indicated their willingness, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal had earlier refused, ostensibly prompting the Centre to stop their SSA funds.

Of the three Opposition-ruled states, Punjab was the first to end the logjam this year on July 26 when Punjab Education Secretary Kamal Kishor Yadav wrote to Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, expressing willingness to implement the scheme in the state. Punjab’s SSA funds worth over Rs 500 crore had been withheld by the Centre over this issue.

On September 2, Delhi too relented. Its Secretary (Education) Ashok Kumar has written saying that Delhi is interested in signing the MoU for establishing PM-SHRI schools in Delhi this academic year.

With this, West Bengal is now the only state holding out on the implementation of the scheme. According to state government officials, West Bengal is awaiting over Rs 1,000 crore for the past three quarters. The state opposes prefixing ‘PM-SHRI’ to the names of its schools, especially since it bears 40% of the cost.

The AAP-ruled governments in Punjab and Delhi had held out over the implementation of PM-SHRI saying they have their own schemes along similar lines, called Schools of Specialised Excellence in Delhi and Schools of Eminence in Punjab. Both had not received crores worth of SSA funds, for two instalments in the 2023-24 financial year, and the first instalment for the 2024-25 financial year.

In his September 2 letter, Kumar wrote: “In view of the above facts, you are therefore once again requested to kindly take action for release of the 3rd and 4th instalment for FY 2023-24 to avoid any financial consequences due to standing committed liabilities and also the 1st instalment for FY 2024-25 of Samagra Shiksha Scheme to Delhi at the earliest.”

An official in Delhi had earlier told this newspaper in July that the Centre’s share of around `330 crore for SSA was awaited – two instalments from 2023-24 and the first instalment for 2024-25.

The SSA is funded in a 60:40 ratio by the Centre and the States. SSA funds cover salaries for a section of teachers and staff, help provide uniforms and textbooks to students in government schools along with support for differently abled children, and reimbursement to private schools for admission of children belonging to the economically weaker section and disadvantaged groups category.

Although Tamil Nadu has agreed to implement PM-SHRI in principle, its signing of MoU is caught in a tussle. Tamil Nadu had agreed to participate in the PM-SHRI scheme earlier this year, but in the MoU it sent to the Ministry of Education, the state had left out a paragraph referring to the implementation of all provisions of the NEP 2020 in its entirety. The Education Ministry declined to release the funds meant for the first quarter of this financial year over this.

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been opposed to the implementation of the NEP. The earlier AIADMK government in the state was against the NEP’s three-language policy. DMK leaders have opposed the idea of a common education policy for all states. Chief Minister M K Stalin had said in 2020 that the NEP gives more priority to Sanskrit than Tamil and other languages. The state follows a two-language policy.

Following the stoppage of funds, Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 27, asking the Centre to expedite the release of its share to the state under SSA. In response, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote to Stalin, urging him to sign an MoU with the Centre for PM-SHRI.