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Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on Monday in connection with sanction of pending Central funds for Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK). The crucial meeting comes after the State government decided to put on hold the Centrally sponsored PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India) scheme after signing up for it in the wake of opposition from coalition partners, particularly the Communist Party of India, in the Left Democratic Front. Mr. Sivankutty said at a press conference in the national capital that the talks focussed on release of Union government funds due to the SSK at the earliest. The Union Minister was pressed to sanction the Central share of ₹1,066.36 crore for the SSK for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 financial year at one go. The talks were fruitful, and the Union Minister took a favourable stand in the matter, the Minister’s office said in a statement. The State also appealed for the release of ₹6.2 crore for PM JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) hostels and ₹3.57 crore for DA-JGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan) hostels. Mr. Sivankutty invited Mr. Pradhan to be the chief guest at the Kerala Education Conclave in Thiruvananthapuram in January. The programme would help to strengthen cooperation in the education sector at the national level. The Minister also informed Mr. Pradhan of the State government’s stand on seeking pending Central funds for the education sector in Kerala and protecting the State’s educational interests. The State has been asked to submit fresh proposal for receiving the next instalment of funds, it is learnt.
