Manickam Tagore demands release of ₹5,109 crore in Samagra Shiksha funds for Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Manickam Tagore has accused the BJP-led Union government of withholding ₹5,109 crore in education funds due to Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha scheme over the past three years.

In a statement, Mr. Tagore said the Union government had withheld ₹1,788 crore in 2024-25, ₹1,496 crore in 2025-26 and ₹1,825 crore in the current financial year, citing figures from the Tamil Nadu School Education Department’s policy note.

He alleged that the Centre had released only ₹714 crore towards the Right to Education (RTE) scheme despite a Supreme Court order, while continuing to withhold other school education funds. The Tamil Nadu government had continued to run its schools despite the lack of central assistance, allocating ₹2,014 crore from its own funds over the past two years and ₹647 crore in the current year, he said.

He alleged that the withholding of funds was affecting initiatives aimed at improving learning outcomes among government school students, teacher training and school infrastructure. The Congress MP also accused the Centre of using the issue to pressure Tamil Nadu over its opposition to the three-language policy and its refusal to implement the PM-SHRI scheme and the National Education Policy (NEP).

Calling the move an “assault on federalism”, Mr. Tagore said he had written to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi seeking the immediate release of the ₹5,109 crore due to Tamil Nadu without any conditions.