Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre has asked the Kerala government to take a decision on implementing the PM SHRI scheme at the earliest, General Education Minister N Samsudheen said on Friday.

Samsudheen said the state received a letter from the Union education secretary to the chief secretary two or three days ago, urging it to take a decision so that other schemes could move forward.

“The letter states that a decision must be taken at the earliest so that the remaining schemes can move forward. It has been two or three days since it was received. We will discuss the matter in this context,” he said, adding that the government's position on the scheme would be announced after discussions.

“I cannot make a statement on my own. The chief minister, along with our UDF leadership, will decide, and the CM will make the announcement,” Samsudheen said. The minister acknowledged differences of opinion within the state over the scheme and said the government's reservations remained.

“Our opposition to it on behalf of the entire UDF was stated even before the elections. We still have reservations about it. Therefore, the details need to be examined further,” he said.

The previous LDF government had signed an MoU with the Union government to implement the PM SHRI scheme. However, the agreement was kept in abeyance following opposition within the LDF and protests by the UDF.

After the UDF government came to power, it appointed a Cabinet subcommittee to examine the scheme and recommend whether Kerala should proceed with it or withdraw from it.

The Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme aims to upgrade 14,500 schools across the country and is expected to benefit 1.8 million students. It also seeks to develop these institutions as model schools aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.