TIRUCHY: School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Wednesday slammed the Union government for “withholding” the first instalment of Rs 573 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme to Tamil Nadu.
Addressing media persons in Tiruchy, the minister said it is unfair to tie the release of funds meant for vital education programmes to the adoption of the National Education Policy (NEP).
Further, the minister alleged that the Union government has not only withheld Rs 249 crore from the previous year but has also failed to provide 60% of their share required to run the scheme. He stressed that the refusal to release Rs 573 crore, the first instalment of Rs 2,152 crore for the academic year, has affected lakhs of students and thousands of teachers across the state.
Denying claims made by state BJP chief Annamalai that the reduction of funds was due to the state’s failure to implement the Samagra Shiksha scheme effectively, the minister said the state has been implementing various schemes for students’ benefit under different names.
EPS flays centre
Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the BJP government at the Centre, saying the funds were not released just because the state government has failed to implement the National Education Policy 2020.