Kerala will approach the Supreme Court to secure its rightful share of education funds under the Samagra Shiskha scheme, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has said.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Sivankutty said Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan’s reply to a question on Samagra Shiksha funds by John Brittas, MP, in the Rajya Sabha a couple of days ago had dimmed any hopes of the State receiving the pending funds. Against this backdrop, the State government had decided to employ all democratic means to secure the funds that were due to it under the Constitution and according to the Right to Education Act.
The government was also mulling holding a protest against the Union government in New Delhi with the involvement of students and education activists to get the withheld funds. The Opposition agreement on the PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India) scheme at the national level was weakened by Congress-ruled States by giving their approval to the scheme, Mr. Sivankutty said.
He alleged that the Union Minister’s reply in the Rajya Sabha had brought to the fore the Centre’s discriminatory attitude towards Kerala and the double standards of the Congress on PM SHRI. The figures provided by the Union Minister during his reply made it evident that States ruled by the Congress implemented PM SHRI and received crores in Samagra Shiksha funds.
Karnataka, for instance, received ₹868.3 crore against the sanctioned Central share of ₹936.55 in 2024-25 and ₹517.7 crore against the sanctioned amount of ₹1,103.33 crore till date in 2025-26. Telangana received ₹988.79 crore in 2024-25 and ₹269.05 in 2025-26, Himachal Pradesh ₹526.2 crore and ₹177.68 crore, and Rajasthan under the Congress rule in 2023-24 got₹3,202.89 crore.
Even as the Congress-ruled States entered into an agreement with the Union government to receive funds, Congress MPs from Kerala were trying to sabotage funds for Kerala. The Union government had withheld ₹1,160.52 crore that was due to the State, Mr. Sivankutty told mediapersons.
Kerala had got zero funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme in 2024-25 and only ₹92.41 crore till now in 2025-26.
Mr. Brittas should be respected for intervening for securing the funds, the Minister said, adding that Opposition MPs had never inquired about the issue from him [Mr. Sivankutty] or intervened to press the State’s cause. The two Union Ministers from the State were also of no help.
On the discontent within the CPI on PM SHRI, the Minister said a decision had been reached with it on the issue.
Published – December 04, 2025 07:58 pm IST
