Lok Sabha Question No. 297 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-02
Subject: Pending Central Funds for Education Sector in Kerala
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri K Radhakrishnan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 297

ANSWERED ON 02/02/2026

## Pending Central Funds for Education Sector in Kerala

297. Shri K Radhakrishnan:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  substantial  Central  funds  meant  for  the education sector are pending to the State of Kerala, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  as  on  September  2025,  Central  assistance  amounting  to Rs. 1,248.13 crore under Samagra Shiksha and Rs. 636.88 crore and Rs. 750.93 crore under University Grants Commission-related benefits are pending to Kerala;
- (c)  if  so,  the  details  of  reasons  for  withholding  or  delaying  the  release  of  these  funds despite Kerala's consistently strong performance  in  school  education and  higher education indicators; and
- (d)  the  details  of  the  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to immediately release the pending dues and ensure timely, non-discriminatory funding to States for the education sector?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a)  to  (d):  Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools are under the domain of respective State and UT Governments. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha is implemented in partnership with all the States and UTs. Financial assistance is provided to all States and UTs for various components for implementation of the interventions under Samagra  Shiksha as per norms. Accordingly, the annual plans under Samagra Shiksha are prepared by the States and UTs  based  on  their  requirements  and  priority  and  this  is  reflected  in  their  respective Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B). These plans are then appraised and approved by  Project  Approval  Board  (PAB)  in  consultation  with  the  States  and  UTs  as  per  the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme. Financial assistance under Samagra Shiksha  is  provided  to  all  States  and  Union  Territories  for  various  interventions  in accordance with the norms of the Scheme and the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance from time to time.

As per the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, there is no provision for carrying forward pending  recurring  activities  from  the  previous  financial  year.  However,  pending  nonrecurring  activities  at  the  end  of  a  financial  year  are  allowed  to  be  taken  up  in  the subsequent financial year as committed liabilities based on demands submitted by the concerned State/UTs.

The scheme of Samagra Shiksha has been aligned with the National Education Policy  (NEP)  2020.  The  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  PM-SHRI  envisages  to showcase  the  implementation  of  the  National  Education  Policy  2020  and  emerge  as exemplar schools over a period of time, and also offer leadership to other schools in the neighbourhood. Kerala signed the MoU for PM SHRI in October, 2025. Kerala is yet to complete the process for school selection under PM SHRI Scheme.

An amount of Rs. 92.41 Crore has been released to the State of Kerala as 1st instalment  during  current  financial  year  out  of  Central  Share  of  Rs.  452.04  Crore allocated for FY 2025-26. The balance Central Share will be released to the State subject to compliance with release criteria of the scheme and guidelines of Ministry of Finance issued from time to time. No such grants are pending for release by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Further, funds amounting to Rs. 3892.67 lakh have been released by UGC to the higher educational institutions (HEIs) of Kerala State for the year 2025-26, up to September 2025.

Since, the State of Kerela is implementing Samagra Shiksha Scheme which has been aligned with NEP 2020, it would be appropriate that the States come forward to implement  and  showcase  all  the  initiatives  of  NEP  2020  including  under  PM  SHRI Scheme in order to develop government schools of the States as exemplar schools to facilitate  best  school  education  services.   In  fact,  implementation  of  Samagra  Shiksha Scheme is implementation of NEP 2020 and PM SHRI Schools are exemplar schools of NEP 2020.