THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Kerala Public Education Minister N Samsudhin on Friday said that the meeting he attended with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was a conference organized earlier for education ministers of all states to discuss various academic related issues.
Samsudin said the issues discussed in the meeting included review of Samagra Shiksha funds in the state and the upcoming Centre-sponsored Prime Minister Bhushan Scheme, under which breakfast will also be provided to children in state-run schools, along with lunch, and meals will be available to all students up to Class 12 instead of the current Class 8.
He explained while speaking to reporters: “It was a conference to discuss the state’s opinions and proposals regarding the two initiatives, so I attended that conference, and I did not go for a personal meeting with the Union Minister.”
His clarification comes amid criticism from various quarters against the minister for attending the meeting with Pradhan at a time when students in Delhi are carrying out intense protests against the Union minister over alleged irregularities in various examinations conducted at the national level, including NEET.
He said that ministers from all countries participated in the conference and held discussions according to the agenda.
There are arrears, Samsudin said $1,500 crore due to Kerala and the problems faced by the state due to it were raised in the conference.
“We have sought settlement of the arrears and not linking the amount to the PM SHRI scheme as the two are separate from each other. We also expressed the state’s readiness to cooperate with the PM Poshan scheme. Therefore, in order to get the crores of money due to the state and benefit from the various schemes in the future, we participated in the conference,” he explained.
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