Madras High Court urges Centre to release withheld funds to Tamil Nadu
The Madras High Court has urged the Union Government to reconsider its decision to withhold Rs 2,152 crore in educational funds payable to Tamil Nadu, and recommended delinking the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act from the state’s adoption of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The court observed that the Centre’s obligation under the RTE Act is “independent” and must be honoured irrespective of whether a state government adopts NEP 2020 or not.
It also underscored that both the Centre and the states have a concurrent responsibility to ensure the effective implementation of RTE provisions.
An individual had approached the High Court alleging admission under the Right to Education Act has not commenced yet in private schools because of this issue.
The state government claimed Union Government has not released funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme since 2021 due to what it termed “political animosity” over the state’s continued opposition to the NEP.
According to the funding pattern, the Centre is mandated to contribute 60%, while the state bears the remaining 40%.