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New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central government to file its written statement within eight weeks in a suit filed by the Tamil Nadu government, which has accused the Center of withholding Samagra Shiksha Yojana funds and linking their release to the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the PM SHRI School Scheme.
The matter came up before chamber judge Justice Atul S Chandurkar, who also ordered that Tamil Nadu’s interim application seeking interim relief be listed before the top court after three weeks.
Senior advocate P. Wilson, assisted by advocate Sabreesh Subramanian, appearing for Tamil Nadu, submitted before the apex court that the Central government has failed to release the overall education fund from the 2021-22 academic year, resulting in an outstanding of Rs 2,291.30 crore.
Wilson said the withholding of funds has adversely affected 43.94 lakh students, 2.21 lakh teachers and 32,701 staff members across Tamil Nadu.
He urged the Supreme Court to consider the state government’s plea for interim release of Rs 2,151.59 crore till the disposal of the case.
Filed under Article 131 of the Constitution, the original suit seeks a declaration that the NEP 2020 and the PM SHRI School Scheme are not binding on Tamil Nadu unless implemented through an agreement between the Central and State governments.
It also challenged the Centre’s decision to link overall education funding with the implementation of these policies, calling it “unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and unreasonable”.
Tamil Nadu has also asked the apex court to direct the Center to release the outstanding funds with 6 per cent annual interest from May 1 and continue to provide the statutory 60 per cent share of the grant under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, before each academic year.
The suit further claimed that despite Tamil Nadu’s proposals being fully approved by the Project Approval Board, the Center withheld funds “solely on the ground that Hindi is not compulsorily taught in schools in the state”, leading to a “complete impasse” in the implementation of the Comprehensive Education Scheme and the RTE Act.
–IANS
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