Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the immediate release of over Rs 2,000 crore in pending educational funds for the state. 

The statement was made by State Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu during the Prime Minister's two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, where he launched several development projects and displayed a commemorative coin honouring Chola Emperor Rajendra Chozhan.

In his letter, the chief minister stated that the Tamil Nadu government has been successfully implementing the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) initiative since 2018, resulting in steady gains in educational achievements, India Today reports. 

However, he stated that the Union Government had made full adoption of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 a condition for the disbursement of government funds. 

He reaffirmed that the state had legal and policy concerns about certain elements of the NEP, particularly the implementation of the three-language policy and the reorganisation of school education to the 5+3+3+4 model.

“The Tamil Nadu School Education System currently accommodates 43.90 lakh students, 2.2 lakh teachers and more than 32,000 supporting staff. Withholding funds for such a critical and large-scale scheme severely affects the future of lakhs of students,” Stalin said.

He urged the Prime Minister Modi to immediately release Rs 2,149 crore owed to the state under the scheme for the fiscal year 2024-25, expedite the first instalment for 2025-26, and ensure that funding is not contingent on signing the PM SHRI (Prime Minister Schools for Rising India) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

In addition, Tamil Nadu's School Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, met with Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on Monday and presented a memorandum requesting the immediate release of funds. 

The state is yet to receive its central share of Samagra Shiksha funds for the fiscal year 2024-25, as well as the first instalment for 2025-26.