Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam will decide on the future course of action regarding the PM SHRI scheme only after a sub-committee submits its report, General Education Minister N Samsudheen told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to questions regarding the scheme, the minister said the state was facing a difficult situation because the previous Left government had agreed to implement the scheme.

"The present government is facing a crisis arising from the fact that the previous government agreed to implement the PM SHRI scheme and signed an MoU, which does not contain a provision allowing the state to withdraw from it," Samsudheen said.

He said the government's stand was that public schools in Keralam could not teach a curriculum other than the one prescribed by the state.

The minister said a sub-committee had been constituted to examine the steps the state should take regarding the scheme and submit a report.

Further decisions will be taken only after the report is received, he added.

The question also referred to Punjab, which signed an MoU for the PM SHRI scheme in October 2022 and selected 241 schools. The state withdrew from the scheme in July 2023, but decided to resume its implementation on July 26, 2024.

According to the figures cited in the Assembly, the scheme is now being implemented in 419 schools in Punjab.

The members also pointed out that, except Tamil Nadu, all states had signed the MoU for the scheme and asked whether Keralam could reconsider its position in view of the changes made by Punjab and other states.

The minister's reply indicated that Keralam would wait for the sub-committee's recommendations before taking a final decision.

The Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme targets upgrading 14,500 schools and is expected to benefit 1.8 million students. It also aims to ensure these schools serve as model institutes and encapsulate the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.