Centre to urge West Bengal, TN to sign PM SHRI MoU

With the change of guard in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu after the recent Assembly polls verdict, the Ministry of Education will write to the Chief Secretaries of the two States, urging them to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the earliest for implementation of the Centre’s PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme in state-run schools, sources said.

The move follows recent Assembly election results that have reshaped the political landscape in both States, with the Centre expressing renewed optimism over the rollout of key education initiatives linked to the National Education Policy 2020.

According to a senior official in the Ministry of Education, letters will be sent “today or tomorrow” seeking early adoption of the PM SHRI scheme, under which selected schools are to be developed as model institutions aligned with NEP 2020.

“We are hopeful that now the States will implement the PM SHRI scheme. We will write to the State chief secretaries for implementation of the PM SHRI scheme,” a senior official said.

Earlier, the Governments in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK, respectively, had not joined the centrally sponsored scheme and had not signed the required MoU with the Centre.

Officials said that implementation of the PM SHRI scheme may become smoother in West Bengal following recent electoral developments, while the situation in Tamil Nadu remains uncertain after C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged victorious in the Assembly polls.

The PM SHRI scheme aims to develop over 14,500 schools across the country as model institutions aligned with the vision of NEP 2020.

The issue had earlier led to friction between the Centre and several Opposition-ruled States over education funding. The Union Government had paused or withheld the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan to States, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi and Punjab, during the 2024-25 financial year after they did not sign the MoU for PM SHRI implementation.

The Centre has maintained that signing the MoU is necessary to access funds under the PM SHRI framework, while Opposition parties have alleged that education grants were being linked to acceptance of NEP and centrally sponsored schemes.

The senior official also said that the ministry is also set to roll out a mental health policy at the school level and place it in the public domain soon.

“We will be putting it in the public domain very shortly,” an official said, adding that it is likely to be released in the first week of June.