Sign MoU for PM SHRI: Pradhan responds to Stalin letter for Samagra Shiksha funds

“However, I was surprised to see that the state responded with a modified MoU…wherein (a) key paragraph referring to the implementation of NEP 2020 in entirety has been dropped,” he wrote.

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been opposed to the implementation of the NEP. The earlier AIADMK government in the state was against the NEP’s three-language policy. The DMK leaders have opposed the idea of a common education policy for all states. Stalin had said in 2020 that the NEP gives more priority to Sanskrit than Tamil and other languages. The state follows a two-language policy.

On the issue of language, Pradhan wrote in his letter to Stalin: “NEP 2020 emphasises that wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least grade 5 but preferably till grade 8 and beyond will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language. Therefore, NEP 2020 fully supports the idea of teaching Tamil in the schools of Tamil Nadu…it is a matter of national pride that Tamil language is one of the oldest classical languages in the world and the oldest in India.”

In his letter, Stalin had written that the Union government is “attempting to link the complete implementation of the NEP in PM SHRI schools as a prerequisite for sanctioning funds under the ongoing SS (Samagra Shiksha) scheme,” and that funds have been released to states that have entered into MoUs with the Centre for PM SHRI.

“It is well known that Tamil Nadu has significant reservations about specific provisions in the NEP 2020. The request of the state to make a minimal modification to the MoU to align itself to PM SHRI schools has not yet been accepted…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,” Stalin had said in his letter.

For the Samagra Shiksha scheme, the release of the Centre’s first installment of Rs 573 crore for 2024-25 to Tamil Nadu is “overdue”, according to Stalin’s letter. The Centre is yet to release Rs. 249 crore due for the previous year, he had said.

Responding to this, Pradhan wrote that in the 2023-24 financial year, the Centre released all four installments under Samagra Shiksha to Tamil Nadu, amounting to Rs 1,876.15 crore.

Three other Opposition-ruled states — West Bengal, Punjab and Delhi — had also not signed the MoU for PM SHRI and the Centre had not released funds to these states for the Samagra Shiksha scheme. However, Punjab has recently relented and agreed to implement the PM SHRI scheme.

One of the provisions of the MoU that states are to enter into with the Centre for PM SHRI is that the state will implement all provisions of the NEP 2020 “in entirety within the entire State/UT.”