Despite signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for the PM SHRI schools scheme, Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty guaranteed that the state's curriculum will remain independent.
His statement came amid criticism from the Communist Party of India (CPI), a key ally in the Left Democratic Front (LDF), as well as allegations from the Congress that the administration was "surrendering" to central pressure.
The controversy erupted after former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Surendran stated that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founders Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar would soon be mentioned in Kerala textbooks.
Sivankutty dismissed the claims as “false propaganda for political purposes,” asserting that the BJP leader “has no understanding of the state’s education policy," as reported by PTI.
The minister stressed that the state's decision to join the PM SHRI scheme was only to receive access to central funding for school infrastructure development.
He added that Kerala has a robust curriculum and academic vision of its own.
“The Centre’s alleged attempts to distort history and communalise education will not work in Kerala, as the historical truth that Nathuram Vinayak Godse assassinated the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, will not be erased from state textbooks,” he said.
Sivankutty further stated that the government had no intention of incorporating teachings about Hedgewar or Savarkar into Kerala's curriculum, describing such claims as "an attempt to create confusion in the public education sector."
