Is the Union Government deceiving Tamil Nadu Education system?

Across India, each state possesses a distinctive educational ecosystem; for that very reason, education ought to remain exclusively on the State List. Only then can a state truly raise its own academic standards.

Yet the Union Government has thrust itself into this arena and, under the banner of the National Education Policy (NEP), foisted a three-language formula upon the country. Tamil Nadu—whose two-language policy has already lifted learning outcomes—has rejected the NEP outright. In retaliation, the BJP-led Centre has withheld ₹2,152 crore that should have reached the State under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

Chief Minister M. K. Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even pressed the matter in person, but the Union Government continues to block the funds, citing Tamil Nadu’s refusal to endorse the three-language policy. This stance has sparked deep resentment among the people of Tamil Nadu.

Against this backdrop, a case was filed in the Madras High Court alleging that private schools were not admitting poor pupils under the 25 per cent quota required by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. In its order, the court observed that the Union Government must meet its obligations under the RTE Act and need not tie that Act to the NEP. Counsel for Tamil Nadu argued that, since 2021, New Delhi has withheld the grant for purely political reasons.

Under Samagra Shiksha, it is the Centre’s duty to release funds for the compulsory-education scheme. The 25 per cent reservation in private schools is a vital lifeline for disadvantaged children, yet for four consecutive years the Union Government has failed to provide its 60 per cent share to Tamil Nadu.

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The 2009 RTE Act enshrined free and compulsory education and introduced the 25 per cent quota for poor students in private institutions. Many in Tamil Nadu now suspect that the Union Government’s true aim is to erode, by stealth, a programme that secures educational opportunity for the poor.

Playing politics with education—the very foundation of a child’s future—is profoundly wrong. One can only hope that the Centre recognises this truth and finally releases the funds owed to Tamil Nadu.