Education Ministry Plans: PM SHRI in West Bengal, Kerala, TN; NIPUN Bharat till Class 5; mental health policy

The ministry of education is preparing to write to the chief secretaries of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, asking them to sign memoranda of agreement (MOU) for the PM SHRI scheme. The scheme which provides funds to ‘model schools’ exemplifying the National Education Policy’s (NEP) direction has been a bone of contention between the union government and the two state governments. But with the BJP winning West Bengal assembly elections, the TVK in Tamil Nadua and the UDF in Kerala, there’s scope for breaking the impasse.

The PM SHRI scheme has been made a part of the Samagra Shiksa Abhiyan, the union government’s main programme for promoting universal access to quality school education. The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is up for reform but the education ministry is still in the process of designing the new framework. The existing guidelines have been extended for another six months, said Sanjay Kumar, secretary, school education and literacy. .

Kumar also said that the government proposes to extend the NIPUN Bharat Mission – the main scheme promoting foundational literacy and numeracy – till Class 5. Currently, NIPUN Bharat implementation is till Class 3.

The government is also in the process of framing a “mental health policy” which will be placed in the public domain for comment by the first week of June.

Samagra Shiksha framework

In January this year, the ministry held a consultation with state officials and NGOs on a new SSA framework, moving beyond quality and equity to “outcome driven, NEP-aligned framework”.

Launched in 2018-19, Samagra Shiksha brought three erstwhile schemes – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) , Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) – under one umbrella.

SSA aims to universalise access to elementary education by providing financial support for the creation of school infrastructure as per the norms and standards specified in the RTE Act 2009.

The scheme essentially provides support for implementing the Right to Education Act 2009, with funding shared between the central and state governments, generally in a 60:40 ratio.

For northeastern and Himalayan states, the split is 90:10 and union territories receive the entire budget from the centre.

On the question about the new framework, Kumar said, “We have given an extension of six months for the old framework.”

PM SHRI: West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Following the declaration of the assembly election results, there has been a change in regime in three states.

All three happen to be states that rejected the NEP 2020 and along with it, the PM SHRI scheme. The union government punished the state by withholding SSA funds for years.

“We will be writing to the chief secretaries of the state to get these states on board to sign the MOU. Kerala had signed the MOU but had put it on hold so we are hopeful now we can get them on board,” said Kumar. In the case of West Bengal, it is not only PM SHRI but also the ULLAS scheme for lifelong learning and adult education, which the ministry is hopeful of implementing.

Asked if funds withheld earlier can be disbursed or will lapse, Kumar said, “The finance expenditure rule states that the funds up to the last two years can be given. The central government has a large-hearted approach.”

States like West Bengal and Kerala have not received funds since 2023-24. Tamil Nadu did after a protracted court case.

Nipun Bharat Mission till Class 5

The Nipun Bharat Mission for foundational literacy and numeracy is set to end in 2026-27. It assesses learning of children up to class 3.

PARAKH has been conducting the Foundational Learning Study 2026, which is supposed to be a mid term study of the Nipun Bharat mission.

“We have a proposal to extend the Nipun Bharat Mission till Class 5. The PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 put the literacy and numeracy figures at 60% so we want to scale that up for children who may have missed in junior classes, “ said Kumar.

This was also an important recommendation of the parliamentary committee of education, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh.