Salim Kumar, only Malayalam comedian to win National Award for Best Actor, dead at 56
He learned to perform on a mimicry stage in Cochin. He finished on a national podium. The house in North Paravur was named Laughing Villa. It is quiet now.
Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty said on Sunday that the state would not backtrack from the long-drawn educational policy of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) at any cost.
Speaking to media persons here on Sunday, Sivankutty said signing up for PM SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) does not mean National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus will be taught in schools in the state and that the National Educational Policy (NEP) clearly states that the authority to bring out school textbooks rests with the states and so there is no need for any concern in this regard.
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Stating that the state government itself is preparing the textbook for the schools selected to implement PM SHRI, he said former BJP state president K Surendran’s statement that school textbooks in the state would teach about RSS founder Hedgewar and Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar would remain as his dream.
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Former BJP state president K Surendran on Saturday said that RSS founder K B Hedgewar, and Hindutva ideologue Savarkar would become part of the curriculum in Kerala and all the history that Congress excluded would be taught. The National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented; it is not the policy of a party but the country, he said.
The general education minister said that the two parties can withdraw from PM SHRI either by consulting each other or by going to court. “In the signed MoU, it is clearly stated that we can withdraw from the agreement any moment. It should be done after deliberations by the two parties and arriving at a consensus. If we cannot arrive at a consensus, we have the freedom to approach the court as well,” the minister said.
Sivankutty further said that it was a matter that affects 47 lakh students in the state and the only priority of the government was not to lose the Central funds for students belonging to poor and marginalised communities.
Meanwhile, it has been reported, as per the provisions in the document, the state does not have the right to cancel the MoU. The MoU also states that the Centre can cancel the MoU completely by giving a 30-day notice if the criteria are not met. The MoU, signed at the secretary level, is valid until March 31, 2027.
It is noteworthy that the MoU was signed on behalf of the government on October 16 by Education Department Secretary K Vasuki and Additional Secretary Chitra. This disproves the Education Department’s claim that it was signed on Friday.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister P Prasad said the Sangh Parivar agenda is spreading in all sectors and it is not possible to adapt to the agenda. This is why the CPI is opposing the implementation of the PM SHRI in the state, he said.
CPI State Secretariat member K Prakash Babu said the government should withdraw from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). He said in Delhi that the CPM General Secretary’s silence in the issue is hurting him.
Senior CPM leader and former Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac has said that Kerala’s decision to sign up for the PM SHRI scheme was a tactical move to secure Central funds.
Speaking to the media here on Sunday, Isaac said that differences of opinion within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would be discussed and resolved.
“Even if the PM SHRI scheme is implemented, the National Education Policy (NEP) will not be enforced in Kerala. The state will decide what should be taught in its schools and will strongly oppose any saffronisation attempts,” he said.
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