Tamil Nadu Sues Centre In Supreme Court For Blocking Rs 2,000-Crore Funds Over NEP

In yet another clash between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre, the DMK government has approached the Supreme Court, accusing the Modi administration of stopping its annual share of crucial education funds to the tune of over ₹2000-crore under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme.

The TN government has claimed that its opposition to the National Education Policy has made the Centre to withhold a sum of over Rs 2291 crore.

Tamil Nadu Vs Centre Over 3 Language Policy

"The Union Government by withholding the State's entitlement to receive funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme is in ignorance of the doctrine of cooperative federalism. The halt of education funds amounts to the usurpation of the constitutional power of the State to legislate under Entry 25, List III (education). The Union Government seeks to coerce the State to implement the NEP-2020 throughout the State in its entirety and to deviate from the education regime followed in the State," The suit, filed through Tamil Nadu State counsel Sabarish Subramanian read.

By stopping the funds, The Centre is forcing the state government to implement the National Education Policy. The DMK is opposing the Centre's policy due to its three-language formula.

Tamil Nadu has sought a court declaration deeming the Union's condition of linking Samagra Shiksha Scheme (SSS) funds to the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and PM Shri Schools as "unconstitutional, illegal, unreasonable and arbitrary."

The State claims that the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, and the NEP & PM Shri scheme are entirely different and they cannot be linked and the Centre is adopting "pressure tactic" by withholding funds to implement the NEP.

TN Within Its Rights To Refuse NEP

"The Plaintiff State is well within its rights to refuse the implementation of the NEP-2020 or the PM SHRI Schools Scheme, as these are policies devoid of any statutory authority. The NEP-2020 is a policy and vision statement of the Defendant that lacks any executive or legislative force binding the Plaintiff State to its implementation. Furthermore, the NEP- 2020 does not mandate implementation as a condition for receiving financial assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme."

Further, the Stalin government has stated that only the Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal governments have not received funds from the Centre. This delay has disrupted critical functions in government schools and hostels, including salaries, teacher training, student entitlements like textbooks and uniforms, and infrastructure grants.