Over the past six years, the Centre paid Samagra Shiksha of Rs 10,443 crore

As the recent recommendation of the Standing Committee of the Congress that the coalition government immediately released funds to Tamil Nadu under Samagra Shiksha Abihiyan (SSA), it has been revealed that the Centre has released more than Rs 1,044,43 crore under the scheme since 2018.

According to the response to the inquiry under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the last part of the funds received by Tamil Nadu from the Union Government under the SSA was in fiscal year 2023-24 – Rs 1,871 crore. Since then, the coalition government has withheld its share of Rs 21.52 crore due to Tamil Nadu’s refusal to accept the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020.

The Project Approval Committee has allocated Rs 3586 crore to Tamil Nadu for 2024-2025 under the SSA funding of Rs 3586 crore.

In 2018, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan was renamed and merged into SSA. In 2018-19, the Union government paid Rs 1,474 crore to Tamil Nadu and in 2023-24 the state received Rs 1,871 crore under the scheme, an increase of 26% in five years.

In March this year, the state decided to assume the share of Rs 2,152 crore in the centre retained by the coalition government. These funds are used to pay salaries, teacher training programs, reimbursement for private schools under the Right to Education Act, and for school infrastructure maintenance and transportation.

The Tamil Nadu government reportedly refused to implement the three-language formula set out under the NEP and signed a memorandum (MOU) related to the establishment of PM-SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India).

Earlier this month, a standing committee of parliament observed that withholding funds under the SSA was “unreasonable” due to Commander Moses for separate programs such as PM-SHRI. It recommends that the Union Department of Education immediately release pending funds under the SSA to the state.

General School System Prince PB Gajendra Babu, Secretary General of the National Platform of Tamil Nadu, said: “The state and alliance governments have a responsibility to provide free education to children. This is a fundamental right. The government is violating rights, violating funds… delays affecting the development of children’s education…”