Bengal joins PM SHRI Schools scheme after signing MoU with Centre

The Union ministry of education and the West Bengal government signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to implement the PM SHRI Schools initiative in the state under the framework of the National Education Policy 2020. The agreement was signed at Kartavya Bhawan by senior officials from the Centre and the West Bengal government, formally bringing the state into the centrally sponsored school transformation scheme after earlier resistance under the previous Trinamool Congress administration.

The MoU was signed by Sanjay Kumar, secretary of the department of school education and literacy, and Dheeraj Sahu, additional secretary, on behalf of the Union government, while Binod Kumar, additional chief secretary, signed on behalf of the West Bengal government. In a statement posted on X, the education ministry said the initiative aims to transform existing schools into model institutions aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 and support nearby schools in improving learning outcomes, innovation and holistic education.

West Bengal had earlier declined to sign the agreement for implementation of the PM SHRI scheme under the previous state government led by Mamata Banerjee, citing differences with the Centre regarding branding and implementation structure. The development followed the recent Assembly election results in which the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government in West Bengal for the first time.

Launched in September 2022, the PM SHRI scheme aims to upgrade 14,500 government schools across the country into model institutions reflecting the principles of NEP 2020. The centrally sponsored scheme follows a 60:40 funding pattern between the Centre and states, except for northeastern and Himalayan states where the Centre bears a higher share of expenditure. Officials said 13,091 PM SHRI schools have already been selected nationwide under the initiative.

With West Bengal joining the programme, Tamil Nadu and Kerala remain pending regarding implementation-related decisions linked to the scheme. Officials stated that the Centre had written multiple times to both states regarding adoption of the initiative. Kerala had earlier signed an MoU in October 2025 but later kept implementation in abeyance, while Tamil Nadu had given an undertaking to introduce the scheme for the 2024-25 academic session without proceeding further.