Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty, today, Tuesday, May 6, alleged that the Central government has withheld Rs 1,500.27 crore due to the state under various centrally sponsored education schemes.

Speaking at a press conference, Sivankutty said the funds have been blocked because Kerala has not signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the PM SHRI (Prime Minister Schools for Rising India) scheme.

“I raised this issue during my recent meeting with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi,” Sivankutty said, and added, “They told us this verbally, but they are not giving it to us in writing.”

The minister said the Kerala government is now exploring legal avenues to recover the pending amount, as per a report by PTI.

“We are also considering seeking legal options from the advocate general,” he added.

In a bid to strengthen the demand, Sivankutty said he would soon meet his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, which he claimed is facing a similar issue. 

“We are planning to raise this issue jointly with Tamil Nadu,” he said.

The state has not yet signed the PM SHRI MoU, and the minister’s remarks indicate a growing concern over the impact of the withheld funds on Kerala’s education sector.