CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to expedite the release of pending funds for TN under the Samagra Shiksha (SS) Scheme. He highlighted that the state is yet to receive the first instalment of Rs 573 crore allocated for this year and Rs 249 crore from the previous year.
CM pointed out that Centre appears to be linking the full implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in PM SHRI Schools as a prerequisite for releasing funds under the SS Scheme.
He noted that while funds have been released to states that have signed MoUs, TN has significant reservations about certain provisions of NEP 2020.
The state’s request to make minor modifications to MoU has not yet been accepted. Under the Scheme, an allocation of Rs 3,586 crore was made for TN, with Centre’s share amounting to Rs 2,152 crore, for 2024-25.