UDF government has not said anywhere it will implement PM SHRI: CM

The United Democratic Front (UDF) government has not said anywhere that it will implement the PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India) scheme, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has said. The UDF government has appointed a Cabinet subcommittee and will take a decision.

The UDF government will not allow interference in ‘curriculum freedom,’ and the schools will be picked by it, Mr. Satheesan said during his reply address to the general discussion on the Revised Budget for the 2026-27 fiscal in the Assembly on Wednesday (June 24, 2026).

Mr. Satheesan asked the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) whether it, when in power, had signed up for the PM-SHRI scheme to “withdraw from it or freeze it.”

Committee meeting

Meanwhile, a Cabinet subcommittee formed to study matters related to implementation of PM SHRI in the State held its first meeting on Wednesday. The subcommittee with Minister for General Education N. Samsudheen as convener and comprising Minister for Higher Education Roji M. John, Minister for Tourism P.C. Vishnunadh, and Minister for Excise M. Liju as members has been tasked with preparing the communication to be forwarded to the Union government on the project implementation. The committee will submit its report in a month.

Preliminary discussions on the PM SHRI scheme were held at the meeting which lasted for around 45 minutes. The General Education Secretary made a PowerPoint presentation in which the Ministers were briefed about the scheme and explained about the developments till now. Materials on the scheme and its implementation were also shared with the Ministers.