5 min readNew DelhiSep 12, 2024 10:38 AM IST
First published on: Sep 11, 2024 at 07:33 PM IST
The Centre and Tamil Nadu have been sparring once again over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, with TN Chief Minister MK Stalin and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan exchanging letters, and now tweets.
What is the Centre and Tamil Nadu arguing about?
The Centre has not released its share of funds to Tamil Nadu for the implementation of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a school education program which helps provide uniforms and textbooks to students in government schools, support differently abled children, and provide reimbursement to private schools for admission of children belonging to the economically weaker section and disadvantaged groups category.
This has prompted a series of exchanges between the Centre and the state.
Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August asking for the SSA funds to be released. He wrote that the Centre’s first installment of Rs 573 crore to the State for FY 2024-25 is overdue, and that another Rs 249 crore from the previous financial year is also pending.
To this, Pradhan responded that the Centre has released all four installments for the previous year.
What lies behind this stand-off?
At the heart of the issue, however, is Tamil Nadu and the Centre’s long disagreement vis-a-vis the NEP. The Centre has linked the release of SSA funds to another scheme, PM-SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India: turning existing schools into “exemplar” ones that showcase aspects of the NEP 2020).
While Tamil Nadu had agreed to sign an MoU with the Centre earlier this year to implement the PM SHRI scheme, it sent an MoU to the Centre omitting a paragraph on the NEP. The MoU that the Centre requires states to sign specifies that the State or UT will implement all provisions of the NEP 2020 “in entirety within the entire State/UT.”
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha last month on the release of SSA funds and PM-SHRI, Pradhan said that SSA has been “fully aligned with the provisions emanating out of the NEP-2020 and PM-SHRI schools are conceptualised and designed to function as NEP 2020 exemplar schools.”
Why does Tamil Nadu oppose the NEP?
Among the issues that both the previous AIADMK government and the current DMK government in Tamil Nadu have had with the NEP 2020 is the three-language formula that the policy recommends. The NEP says that the three languages which students will learn can be chosen by the States, regions, and students themselves, as long as at least two of the three languages are native to India.
Schools in Tamil Nadu follow a two-language system where students learn Tamil and English. The possibility of having to include Hindi, and the “imposition” of Hindi or Sanskrit in case of a three-language policy has been raised by AIADMK and DMK leaders in their opposition to the NEP.
As Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said in a tweet on Tuesday: “Tamil Nadu has always been committed to preserving its linguistic heritage through the two-language policy, rooted in historical movements of the 1930s and 60s. We embrace Tamil as a pillar of our identity while also ensuring future generations are equipped with English proficiency.”
He also wrote that TN is “already implementing many acceptable aspects of NEP through its own initiatives. However, our objections relate to specific elements like the three-language formula and curriculum changes. Linking the release of ‘Samagra Shiksha’ funds to NEP compliance infringes upon the State’s constitutional autonomy in education.”
DMK leaders have also raised the issue of a uniform national policy on education that will be applicable across States. In his letter to the Prime Minister in August, Stalin wrote: “…due to regional differences in socio-economic conditions, infrastructure, resources etc. it is imperative that states have a fair say in implementing policies affecting children in matters pertaining to education which is placed in the concurrent list of the Constitution of India.”
A report on drafting a State Education Policy for Tamil Nadu was submitted to Stalin earlier this year by a committee led by Justice D Murugesan.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan have exchanged a series of tweets on the matter. (Express Archive) 
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