Tamil Nadu to cover Rs 2,152 crore shortfall in school funds after Centre withholds aid

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday said the state government has allocated funds from its exchequer to compensate for the Rs 2,152 crore withheld by the Union government under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, reported The Hindu.

The Samagra Shiksha, implemented in 2018, is the scheme through which the Union government provides support for elementary and secondary school education. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the amount will not be released unless Tamil Nadu implements the National Education Policy and its three-language formula.

“Despite this, keeping in mind the welfare of students, the state government has allocated funds, including salaries of teachers, from its own resources to ensure that the education of government school students remains unaffected,” said Thennarasu while presenting the state Budget for 2025-’26.

The three-language formula refers to teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state. It was introduced in the first National Education Policy in 1968 and was retained in the new policy introduced in 2020.

Tamil Nadu has opposed its implementation, stating that the formula is a method to impose Hindi in the state.

Thennarasu said that Rs 46,767 crore has been allocated for the School Education Department in 2025-’26, compared to Rs 44,042 crore in 2024-’25.

The Samagra Shiksha scheme has supported...

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