M.K. Stalin. File
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday (February 20, 2025) sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the pending funds due to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
Reiterating the State’s position on the two-language policy, he urged that the funds be released to the State “without linking” it to the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Linking the two different Centrally Sponsored Schemes — the Samagra Shiksha scheme and the NEP exemplar PM SHRI schools — was “fundamentally unacceptable,” Mr. Stalin said, adding that the Union government’s use of release of funds as a “pressure tactic to coerce a State” into adopting centrally mandated programmes against its own time-tested State policies was a “blatant violation of cooperative federalism.”
Mr. Stalin said that this would “grossly undermine the States’ rights to shape their own education policies, based on a State’s specific needs.” Due to the non-release of funds under the ongoing programme, several vital components towards teacher salaries, student welfare programmes, inclusive education initiatives, RTE reimbursements for underprivileged students, and transport for students in remote areas have been jeopardised, he underlined.
“In the interest of cooperative federalism and the welfare of lakhs of students and teachers, I urge you to intervene in this matter,” Mr. Stalin wrote to Mr. Modi. Pending funds to the tune of ₹2,152 crore under Samagra Shiksha for Tamil Nadu for 2024-25 has to be released immediately, without linking it to the implementation of NEP 2020 to “dissipate the unrest caused due to this issue,” he said.
On Union Education Minister’s remarks
Expressing deep concern over the recent remarks of the Union Minister for Education, indicating that ‘Samagra Shiksha’ funds for Tamil Nadu would not be released until the State implemented the NEP in its entirety and adopted the three-language policy, Mr. Stalin said it created “immense anxiety and unrest” among students, political parties, and the general public in the State.
“For many decades, Tamil Nadu has always been steadfast in its two-language policy, which is deeply rooted in our educational and social milieu,” Mr. Stalin said, further pointing out that Tamil Nadu has been exempted from implementing ‘The Official Languages Act, 1963’ as mentioned in The Official Languages Rules, 1976.
Mr. Stalin went on to say that even Central schools like Navodaya Vidyalayas that follow the three-language policy have not been established in Tamil Nadu because of the opposition to it. “The tremendous strides made by our State in the last half century and its trendsetting initiatives can be traced back to our progressive policy making, built on this two-language policy and social justice. The above would clearly exemplify that any change in our two-language policy is non-negotiable for our State and our people.”
Tamil Nadu has also raised its strong concerns on other specific provisions of the NEP, and these concerns were formally communicated through his letter in August 2024, and a detailed memorandum was personally submitted to the Prime Minister in September last year, Mr. Stalin recalled. “However, despite these multiple representations, the Samagra Shiksha funds for 2024-25 remain unreleased,” the Chief Minister pointed out.
Published – February 20, 2025 12:53 pm IST
