Tamil Nadu moves SC against Centre allegedly withholding Rs 2,200 crore education funds
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court accusing the Union government of withholding funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme for the financial year 2024-'25, Bar and Bench reported.
Tamil Nadu alleged that the Union government's decision was a response to its refusal to implement the 2020 National Education Policy and the PM SHRI Schools scheme, and its opposition to the three-language formula that includes Hindi.
'Such coercive tactics are neither legally permissible nor consistent with state legislation,' Bar and Bench quoted Tamil Nadu as having said in its suit.
The state described the Union government's alleged decision to withhold the funds as a 'blatant violation of cooperative federalism'.
In the suit filed under Article 131 of the Constitution, the state urged the Supreme Court to direct the Union government to release more than Rs 2,291 crore, which it claims is pending under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, along with interest for the delay, Live Law reported.
Article 131 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court jurisdiction over legal matters originating between states or between the states and the Union government.
Tamil Nadu also asked the Supreme Court to declare that the Union government's decision to link Samagra Shiksha Scheme funds to the implementation of the 2020 National Education Policy and PM SHRI Schools in the state was 'unconstitutional, illegal, unreasonable and arbitrary'.
It urged the court to declare that neither the education policy, nor the PM SHRI Schools scheme was binding on Tamil Nadu unless they were adopted voluntarily.
Tamil Nadu's suit against the Centre
According to Tamil Nadu, in a February 2024 meeting, the Ministry of Education's Project Approval Board had cleared Rs 3,585.9 crore for the state under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, with Rs 2,151.59 crore to be provided by the Union government as per the 60:40 cost-sharing arrangement, Bar and Bench reported.
The Samagra Shiksha Scheme, implemented in 2018, is the scheme through which the Union government provides support for elementary and secondary school education.
In its suit, Tamil Nadu alleged that it had not received any instalment of the funds.
It also opposed the 2020 National Education Policy's three-language formula: teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state.
The state follows a two-language policy – Tamil and English – and has for long opposed what it alleges as the imposition of Hindi, Bar and Bench said. The suit has mentioned this long-standing position, citing a 1968 resolution passed by the Assembly and the 2006 Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, which requires Tamil to be taught compulsorily from Class 1 to Class 10.
The state argued that the Union government's actions violate constitutional principles on the right to equality, right to life and the right to free and compulsory education, among others, as well as the statutory framework of the Right to Education Act.
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