The Union Education Ministry on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with the West Bengal government to implement the PM SHRI schools initiative in the state, ending years of resistance under the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) administration and formally bringing the state into the Centre’s flagship schools transformation plan in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The MoU was signed at Kartavia Bhawan by Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, Dheeraj Sahoo, Additional Secretary, on behalf of the Centre, and Binod Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, on behalf of the Government of West Bengal.
“In line with the National Education Policy (NEP) Vision 2020, this initiative focuses on transforming existing schools into model institutions of excellence. These schools will act as model institutions, to guide and support nearby schools to enhance learning outcomes, innovation and inclusive education,” the Ministry of Education said in a post on X on Friday.
The development comes days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, came to power in West Bengal for the first time following the recently announced Assembly election results.
West Bengal had earlier refused to sign a memorandum of understanding to implement the PM SHRI scheme under the TMC government led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, citing differences with the Center over the branding of the scheme and the implementation structure.
With West Bengal now on board, Kerala and Tamil Nadu remain the only states that have not yet signed the MoU for the scheme. Officials said the Center is expected to interact with the new governments in both the states following the recent political changes after the Assembly elections, with the Vijay-led TVK replacing the DMK government headed by MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, and the VD Satheesan-led Congress replacing the CPI(M)-led Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala.
Launched in September 2022, the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Renaissance India) programme, aims to upgrade 14,500 existing government schools into model institutions that fully reflect the principles of the New Economic Policy 2020. The centrally sponsored scheme follows a 60:40 funding pattern between the Center and the states, except for the North-Eastern and Himalayan states, where the Center bears a larger share of expenditure.
At present, 13,091 PM SHRI schools across the country have been selected under this initiative.
