Samsudheen Denies Meeting Pradhan, Says He Only Attended State Education Ministers’ Conference

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 24 : Kerala General Education Minister N Samsudheen on Friday said the meeting he attended with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was a conference organised much earlier for education ministers from all states to discuss various academic-related issues. Samsudheen said that the issues discussed in the meeting included a review of the Samagra Shiksha (SSK) funds in the state and the upcoming Centre-sponsored PM Poshan scheme, under which children in state-run schools would also be provided breakfast, besides lunch, and the meals would be available to all students up to class 12 instead of the current class 8. “It was a conference to discuss the state’s views and suggestions regarding the two initiatives. So, I attended that conference, and did not go for a personal meeting with the union minister,” he clarified while speaking to reporters. His clarification comes amidst reported criticism from various quarters against the minister for attending the meeting with Pradhan at a time when intense protests are being carried out by students in Delhi against the union minister over alleged irregularities in various nationally-held exams, including NEET. He said that ministers of all states took part in the conference and held discussions as per the agenda. Samsudheen said that the arrears of Rs 1,500 crore due to Kerala and the problems being faced by the state due to the same were raised in the conference. “We sought that the arrears be cleared and that the amount be not connected with the PM SHRI scheme as the two are separate from each other. We also conveyed the state’s willingness to cooperate with the PM Poshan scheme. So, in order to get the crores of funds due to the state and get the benefit of various schemes in the future, we took part in the conference,” he explained.