SC declines Tamil Nadu’s plea on halted ₹2,000 crore education funds

The Supreme Court on June 9 declined Tamil Nadu’s oral request for an urgent hearing of its suit against the Union government for allegedly halting over ₹2,000 crore in education funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme.

A Vacation Bench led by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said there was “no urgency” in the matter.

Senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for the state, warned the bench that the lack of funds could disrupt the education of nearly 48 lakh students, especially as the academic year had already started on June 3.

“Since when were the funds deprived?” Justice Mishra asked.

“Last year the funds were not given. We filed the suit on May 20, 2025,” Wilson replied. Justice Mishra reiterated, “No urgency.”

The suit, prepared by advocates Richardson Wilson and Apoorv Malhotra, alleged that the union government’s decision to withhold funds was linked to Tamil Nadu’s firm opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly its three-language formula and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme.

It claimed that the government was using funding as leverage to enforce NEP implementation across the state.

According to the petition, “The Union government, by withholding the state’s entitlement to receive funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, is in ignorance of the doctrine of cooperative federalism. The halt of education funds amounts to the usurpation of the constitutional power of the state to legislate under Entry 25, List III. The Union government seeks to coerce and force the State to implement the NEP-2020 throughout the State in its entirety and to deviate from the education regime followed in the State.”

It further described the government’s refusal to release the funds as a “blatant diktat” aimed at pushing the implementation of NEP-2020, with which the state has consistently disagreed.

Tamil Nadu argued that the Samagra Shiksha Scheme should remain independent of the NEP and the PM SHRI Schools initiative.

The suit highlighted that the union government failed to release ₹2,151 crore, its 60% share of the approved ₹3,586 crore outlay for the 2025–26 financial year.

This shortfall has reportedly impacted over 43.9 lakh students, more than 2.2 lakh teachers, and around 32,700 staff across the state.

The state is seeking a judicial declaration that NEP-2020 and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme are not binding on it and wants the court to declare the linking of central funds with NEP implementation as “unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable.”

Tamil Nadu has also demanded the release of ₹2,291 crore with 6% annual interest from May 1, 2025, until the payment is completed.

Chief Minister MK Stalin had earlier written to the Prime Minister expressing strong objection to linking funds with NEP adoption, describing it as “fundamentally unacceptable” and a violation of cooperative federalism. The suit mentions that the government dismissed these concerns.

Tamil Nadu has a long-standing opposition to the three-language formula. It recalled a 1968 State Assembly resolution rejecting the Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967, and Parliament’s resolution on the same issue.

This state resolution called for the scrapping of the three-language formula and mandated that only Tamil and English be taught in schools across Tamil Nadu, with Hindi being excluded from the curriculum.

The state further emphasized that its Tamil Learning Act, 2006, mandates Tamil as a compulsory subject from Classes 1 to 10.

“The Union government cannot compel the state to implement its own policy under the guise of providing financial support,” the petition said.