The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant an urgent hearing to the Tamil Nadu government’s plea concerning the Centre’s alleged withholding of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme. A bench comprising Justices PK Mishra and Manmohan stated that the matter did not warrant immediate intervention.
The Tamil Nadu government had recently moved the apex court seeking directions for the release of funds that it claims are being withheld by the Union government. According to the state’s plea, the Centre had frozen the disbursal of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme due to Tamil Nadu’s continued refusal to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
In its petition, Tamil Nadu argued that its access to central education funds was being unfairly made conditional upon the acceptance and implementation of the NEP-2020 and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme. The state government maintains that these central initiatives are not binding on states unless formal agreements are executed with the Union government.
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The plea emphasised that the state government views such conditionality as unconstitutional, arbitrary, and illegal. Tamil Nadu contended that it is entitled to funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme independently of its position on other central education policies. “The glaring reason for such non-disbursement is that the Defendant has linked the release of Samagra Shiksha Scheme funds with the implementation of the ‘National Education Policy’ and the ‘NEP exemplary PM SHRI Schools’ Scheme, despite the fact that these are separate policies,” the plea stated.
The Tamil Nadu government further took issue with a clause in the PM SHRI Schools Scheme’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which effectively mandates the complete implementation of the NEP-2020 in the state. This includes the contentious Clause 4.13, which introduces a three-language formula. The state reiterated its firm opposition to this aspect of the policy, citing longstanding resistance to such impositions.
Tamil Nadu has asked the Court to declare that neither the NEP-2020 nor the PM SHRI Schools Scheme is enforceable in the state unless there is explicit consent and a signed agreement between the state and the Centre. The matter is now pending further listing, subject to the regular schedule of the Court.
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