Supreme Court of India

‘No urgency’: SC turns down TN’s plea for fast-track hearing on school funds

Advocate Wilson, appearing for Tamil Nadu, submitted that the Union government’s withholding of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan had affected over 43 lakh students, 2.21 lakh teachers, and nearly 33,000 staff members.

Published on:

09 Jun 2025, 11:38 am

The Supreme Court on Monday, June 9, denied an urgent listing of Tamil Nadu's petition against the Union government for the release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The Tamil Nadu government had filed a petition challenging the Union’s denial of Rs 2,152 crore under the scheme, which the state argued was a mandated obligation under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is a flagship programme aimed at improving school education from pre-primary to Class 12, by integrating schemes like Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and teacher education under one umbrella.

In its petition dated May 20, the state argued that the Union government had linked the disbursal of SSA funds with the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and the ‘PM SHRI Schools’ scheme — both of which are separate initiatives and not prerequisites under the RTE Act. Justice PK Mishra of the Supreme Court, however, observed that there was no urgency in the matter.

Advocate Wilson, appearing for Tamil Nadu, submitted that the withholding of funds had affected over 43 lakh students, 2.21 lakh teachers, and nearly 33,000 staff members. Tamil Nadu has implemented a 25% reservation for students from families below the poverty line, with the government covering tuition fees. The state said that due to the suspension of funds, admissions under this provision have come to a halt since the academic year began on June 2.

In a separate petition before the Madras High Court, petitioner V Eswaran from Coimbatore sought a direction to begin admissions for the upcoming academic year as per the RTE Act. In response, the Union government submitted that the funds would be released only if the state signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to implement the PM Shri Scheme under the NEP 2020.

As per the RTE Act, the Union government is obliged to cover 60% of the total expenditure under the SSA. The Union Ministry of Education had stated in Parliament that SSA funds for the fiscal year 2024-25 had been disbursed to all states except Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala.