CHENNAI: Denying charges over allocation of funds for the education department, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi dismissed the allegations that internet bills for district education offices have not been paid leading to suspension of connections. “Internet bills are not pending in any district. No salaries are pending to teachers,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Poyyamozhi also accused the centre of withholding its share of Rs 2,151 crore under Samagra Siksha scheme, forcing the state to bear the entire cost of educational initiatives.
“Despite the centre’s failure to release funds, Tamil Nadu has ensured the welfare of two lakh teachers and 43 lakh students by not delaying salaries or other expenditures,” he said. His reply came in response to allegations from various quarters, including Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai who on Sunday alleged through a post on social media that the state education department failed to pay internet bills for 385 district education offices, disrupting student services and delaying teacher salary processing.
Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, Annamalai had claimed that Tamil Nadu is burdened with Rs 8.5 lakh crore of debt and questioned the utilisation of these funds.
“The report states that loans secured by the state government are being used for day-to-day expenses rather than the purposes for which they were obtained,” he claimed. Annamalai also said that if the DMK government cannot even allocate funds for internet services and relies on loans for daily expenses, it raises questions about the management of tax revenues and the 70% share of GST provided by the centre. “Is Tamil Nadu on the brink of bankruptcy,” he asked.
Following Poyyamozhi’s reply, Annamalai posted on platform X that the centre had disbursed Rs 5,858 crore under the Samagra Shiksha scheme over the last three years. He questioned why the state had not implemented important aspects of the scheme, referring to Tamil Nadu’s refusal to sign the MoU for PM SHRI schools. He also cited the TNIE report highlighting Rs 1.5 crore in pending internet bills across 3,700 schools, following which BSNL had threatened disconnection of services to schools.
Net link to edu offices not cut: Min
Poyyamozhi dismissed charges that internet bills for district edu offices have not been paid leading to suspension of connections. Annamalai flayed the DMK govt for not implementing vital aspects of Samagra Siksha scheme.