Tamil Nadu CM Stalin releases State Education Policy amid NEP row

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday released the State Education Policy (SEP) on Friday at the Anna Centenary Library Auditorium in Kotturpuram, Chennai.

The SEP was drafted by a committee set up by the state government and chaired by retired High Court Judge Justice D Murugesan, who submitted the report in 2024. The policy has since been awaiting release and implementation.

The move comes after months of protests against the National Education Policy (NEP) promoted by the Centre. The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has consistently opposed the NEP, calling it “against social justice” and an attempt to impose Hindi on the state. Tamil Nadu has refused to implement the NEP.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin releases the State Education Policy (SEP) at Anna Centenary Library Auditorium in Chennai pic.twitter.com/f0cfFGV2pJ

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In May, the state government filed a plea in the Supreme Court over the alleged withholding of about Rs 2,200 crore in central funds, which it linked to its refusal to adopt the NEP. The plea asks the court to declare that the NEP 2020 and the PM SHRI Schools Scheme are not binding on the state unless it formally agrees to them.

The government argued that its funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme have been unlawfully tied to these central schemes, calling the move “unconstitutional, arbitrary, and illegal”.

“The glaring reason for such non-disbursement is that the Defendant has linked the release of Samagra Shiksha Scheme funds with the implementation of ‘National Education Policy’ and ‘NEP exemplary PM SHRI Schools’ Scheme, despite the fact that this policy / scheme are separate schemes. That the reason of such apparent linkage is the fact that the MoU pertaining to the PM SHRI Schools Scheme dictates for implementation of the NEP-2020 in the Plaintiff State (Tamil Nadu) in its entirety which is not agreeable to the Plaintiff State due to the vociferous opposition to the Clause 4.13 of the NEP-2020 which envisages three-language formula”, the plea stated.

Tamil Nadu is seeking the release of Rs 2,291.30 crore from the Centre, plus 6 per cent annual interest on Rs 2,151.59 crore from May 1 until full payment. The state also wants the court to direct the Centre to meet its obligations under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, by releasing its 60 per cent share of grants-in-aid on time before each academic year. (ANI)