Higher Education Minister Roji M. John on Friday remained non-committal about whether the United Democratic Front (UDF) government would implement the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration’s announcement to make undergraduate (UG) education free in Kerala.

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led government had announced in its last Budget that degree education in arts and science colleges would be made free for students, and that the proposed reform would benefit over 3.5 lakh students.

However, Mr. John dismissed the LDF government’s promises as an election-oriented “gimmick.” “Anyone can say anything in a final Budget before elections; there is no liability attached to it. As the White Paper on State finances recently revealed, the previous Budget was a gimmick. They announced projects worth ₹35,000 crore, while facing a revenue shortfall of over ₹20,000 crore,” he said.

While the Minister clarified that the UDF aligns ideologically with maximising free education, evoking the principles of Nehruvian socialism, he maintained that the present government cannot answer for unallocated past promises. Instead, it would follow the vision outlined in the UDF election manifesto.

Mr. John also hinted at the possibility of overhauling the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP), introduced across the State by the previous LDF government two years ago. He opined that the reform was rushed into implementation without adequate preparation, and that “universities, teachers and students were all suffering from its structural flaws.”

The Higher Education department is planning to constitute an expert committee to study the FYUGP comprehensively and recommend structural revisions, he said.

He added that the government had commenced preparatory work to implement the ‘Indira Guarantee’ of providing monthly stipend of ₹1,000 to college-going girls in the State. The financial benefit would reach female students in the upcoming academic year, and details of the scheme would be unveiled in the State Budget, he pointed out.

Reacting to Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan’s allegations that the UDF government was adopting a soft stance towards the Sangh Parivar’s alleged ‘saffronisation’ of universities, Mr. John reiterated that it was during the previous LDF regime that the Governor, who also serves as the Chancellor of State-run universities, was given an unprecedented “red carpet” to interfere in the day-to-day operations of the institutions.

“However, the UDF government maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of communal or political radicalisation in the education sector or any other sphere in Kerala,” the Minister asserted.