SSA, NEP, PM-SHRI: Here’s what sparked TN row over education funds

The non-release of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds has united the state government and Opposition in Tamil Nadu’s battle against the Centre.

SSA is an integrated programme for school education for which the Centre supports the states from pre-school to senior secondary levels. Tamil Nadu has claimed that it is yet to receive Rs 2,400 crore in SSA funds for 2024-25 and the last tranche of Rs 249 crore for 2023-24.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stated plainly that unless the state agrees to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and three-language policy, the funds will not be released — a position Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has termed as “blackmail”.

Teachers warn of protest

Now, government teachers’ associations in Tamil Nadu have come together and threatened to go on a protest if the Centre does not release the funds.

The Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers’ Association has termed the Centre’s position as “unconstitutional”, arguing that the latter cannot impose the three-language policy on the state as education is a Concurrent List subject.

Also read: TN's opposition of NEP is 'politics', says Union minister Pradhan

Alleging that the delay in fund release had affected several other schemes and teachers’ salaries, the association said it would launch a signature campaign and submit it to the President and Prime Minister. If the funds are still not released, they have warned of protests.

The Tamil Nadu Block Resource Teacher Educators Association has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged him to intervene immediately.

SSA, PM-SHRI, and NEP

The SSA was envisaged by the Union government in 2018 to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2009. The Centre is supposed to bear 60 per cent of its burden while the states bear 40 per cent. The northeastern states and Union Territories get a larger share of central funding.

The scheme includes provisions for all staff salaries besides other major school expenses. It covers 11.68 lakh schools, according to the government website, and around 15.62 crore students. The salaries of 57.67 lakh teachers are also covered by the SSA.

As the NEP was developed in 2020, the SSA was aligned with it in 2021. The next year, the PM-SHRI (PM Schools for Rising India) scheme was announced in the Union Budget and incorporated under SSA. The target was to develop 14,500 PM-SHRI schools across India to showcase each objective of the NEP.

States must confirm their participation in PM-SHRI by signing an MoU with the Union Education Ministry. According to ministry officials, a draft regarding this was sent to all states but none of them objected to it then.

Also read: Will NEP 'imposition' row trigger another anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu?

States that defied the Centre

Trouble started after that. Five states — Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — refused to sign the MoU subsequently. However, Kerala and Tamil Nadu later relented and indicated their willingness to implement the PM-SHRI. However, they are yet to do it.

The other three continued on their stand. Finally, in July 2024, the Centre stopped disbursing SSA funds to Delhi, which then had an AAP government, Punjab (AAP), and West Bengal (TMC) for refusing to implement the PM-SHRI scheme. Around October, Delhi and Punjab gave in and agreed to sign the MoU after facing an acute funds crunch.

Only Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal continue to be deprived of SSA funds for their respective stands.

Last year, Tamil Nadu even agreed to sign the MoU is the prefix “PM” was removed from the scheme’s title in it, but the Education Ministry refused. The state then requested the Centre to release the rest of the SSA funds except for the PM-SHRI amount. However, the Centre refused that too, saying the state cannot receive any amount unless it implements all objectives under the scheme.

Stalin’s request

In August last year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally intervene to expedite the release of the pending grants under the SSA.

Also read: ‘Blackmail’: Stalin slams Pradhan over NEP, 3-language-policy fund rider

“…for 2024-25, an allocation of Rs 3,586 crore was made for the state, out of which the Union Government’s share is Rs 2,152 crore (60 per cent),” he wrote. Though the proposals were submitted in April 2024, the release of the first instalment of Rs 573 crore was overdue. Also, the Centre was yet to release Rs 249 crore due for the previous year, he wrote.

“Lately, it has been noticed that the Union Government is attempting to link the complete implementation of the [NEP] in PM Shri Schools as a prerequisite for sanctioning funds under the ongoing SS scheme,” he wrote.

“The request of the state to make a minimal modification to the MoU to align itself to PM Shri Schools has not yet been accepted,” Stalin wrote.

Pradhan’s ‘blackmail’

Even Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, with whom the state government has had many a tiff, raised the issue in the state assembly in January, urging the Centre to release the SSA funds, saying the delay could impact the future of over 40 lakh students and 2.2 lakh teachers.

However, speaking at the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi last week, the Union Education Minister made it clear that the SSA funds would not be released unless the state government fully implemented the NEP, including the three-language policy, which Tamil Nadu has opposed.

While Pradhan accused the DMK government of “playing politics” and asked why the state was opposing the NEP when most other states had implemented it, Stalin accused him of “blackmail”.

DMK’s stance

“Which section of the Constitution mandates the three-language policy? Education is in the Concurrent List, not solely under the Union. Tamils won’t accept this arm-twisting,” he asserted.

Tamil Nadu Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi also hit back, accusing the Union government of holding students’ futures at ransom for political gain. He highlighted that the state spends Rs 920 crore annually on teachers’ salaries and Rs 400 crore on the scheme.

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also asserted that “Tamil Nadu will never accept the three-language policy”.

Also read: Centre using 'political revenge, blackmail, coercion' over NEP rejection: Stalin

All-round protest

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, in an X post, has slammed the Centre for withholding education funds, calling it an affront to Parliament, Tamil Nadu Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has also condemned the Centre’s stance, asserting that the state would continue to follow the two-language policy of Tamil and English.

TVK chief Vijay has also condemned the Centre’s stand, calling it “fascist”. “Imposing the three-language policy and blocking funds is fascist. We will oppose such acts, whether by the Union or state government,” he has said.