The Crossbill News Desk
In the midst of an intensifying standoff between the Union government and Tamil Nadu over the National Education Policy (NEP), the Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 10, advised the Union Ministry of Education to explore the possibility of disbursing funds under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme (SSS) in a split manner.
This, the court suggested, would enable the Centre to release its share of funding specifically meant for private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act—separate from the NEP-linked SSS.
A division bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan observed that both the Union and state governments share concurrent responsibilities under the RTE Act, and that the financial commitments made under it should not be made contingent on the state’s adoption of the NEP, The Hindu reported.
While a civil suit filed by the Tamil Nadu government over the release of these funds remains pending, the bench stopped short of issuing binding directions, instead urging the Centre to "consider" unbundling the RTE component from the overall SSS disbursal.
Citing Section 7 of the RTE Act, the bench underlined that the Centre’s obligations under the law exist independently of the state’s compliance with the NEP.
“Section 7 of the RTE Act states that the Central government and the State governments have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of the Act… Therefore, funds payable to the state government representing the central government’s share towards discharging the RTE obligations need not be linked to NEP 2020,” the court noted.
According to Tamil Nadu officials, the state is awaiting the release of Rs 2,151.59 crore under the SSS, of which Rs 200 crore pertains to RTE-related reimbursements to private schools. The court made it clear that the state could not cite delays in central fund disbursement as an excuse for not fulfilling its own obligations.
“The State government has an obligation to reimburse private unaided schools. Non-receipt of funds from the Union Government cannot be cited as a reason to wriggle out of this statutory obligation,” it said.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan told the court that splitting the funds might be difficult since the SSS is aligned with the NEP and conceived as an integrated scheme covering pre-school to Class 12.
He also asserted that implementing the RTE Act was primarily the state’s responsibility. However, the judges maintained that both levels of government are jointly accountable for fulfilling the Act’s provisions.
The court’s remarks follow rising political tensions between the Centre and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, which has opposed the NEP. The issue reached Parliament during the recent budget session, with the DMK accusing the Union government of using financial coercion.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in turn, lashed out at the DMK for “ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students,” calling the party “dishonest,” “undemocratic,” and accused it of using language politics to block students from accessing a national model of education.
This, the court suggested, would enable the Centre to release its share of funding specifically meant for private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act—separate from the NEP-linked SSS.
A division bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan observed that both the Union and state governments share concurrent responsibilities under the RTE Act, and that the financial commitments made under it should not be made contingent on the state’s adoption of the NEP, The Hindu reported.
While a civil suit filed by the Tamil Nadu government over the release of these funds remains pending, the bench stopped short of issuing binding directions, instead urging the Centre to "consider" unbundling the RTE component from the overall SSS disbursal.
Citing Section 7 of the RTE Act, the bench underlined that the Centre’s obligations under the law exist independently of the state’s compliance with the NEP.
“Section 7 of the RTE Act states that the Central government and the State governments have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of the Act… Therefore, funds payable to the state government representing the central government’s share towards discharging the RTE obligations need not be linked to NEP 2020,” the court noted.
According to Tamil Nadu officials, the state is awaiting the release of Rs 2,151.59 crore under the SSS, of which Rs 200 crore pertains to RTE-related reimbursements to private schools. The court made it clear that the state could not cite delays in central fund disbursement as an excuse for not fulfilling its own obligations.
“The State government has an obligation to reimburse private unaided schools. Non-receipt of funds from the Union Government cannot be cited as a reason to wriggle out of this statutory obligation,” it said.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan told the court that splitting the funds might be difficult since the SSS is aligned with the NEP and conceived as an integrated scheme covering pre-school to Class 12.
He also asserted that implementing the RTE Act was primarily the state’s responsibility. However, the judges maintained that both levels of government are jointly accountable for fulfilling the Act’s provisions.
The court’s remarks follow rising political tensions between the Centre and the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, which has opposed the NEP. The issue reached Parliament during the recent budget session, with the DMK accusing the Union government of using financial coercion.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in turn, lashed out at the DMK for “ruining the future of Tamil Nadu students,” calling the party “dishonest,” “undemocratic,” and accused it of using language politics to block students from accessing a national model of education.
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