CM Flays Union Govt for Denying Funds

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin wondered if the Union Government planned to promote quality education and equality by denying funds to the best performing States under the Samagra Shiksha scheme (SSA) for their refusal to bow to the forced implementation of the National Education Policy.

In message on X, Stalin, who is now in Chicago as part of his official visit to the US to attract industrial investments for Tamil Nadu, on Monday uploaded a newspaper report titled ‘Samagra Shiksha fund delay punishes role-model States’ to drive home the point that Tamil Nadu has been targeted for victimization.

The newspaper article with detailed data says in the strapline that the withholding of funds has more to do with acceptance of PM Shri scheme than the actual outcomes of the SSA and explains with statistics how top ranking States have been denied funds.

Stalin says in the message that the States that were not delivering on the objectives of the SSA were being generously rewarded and leaves it ‘to the wisdom of our nation and our people to decide!’

The delay in the release of the funds for the SSA to five Opposition-ruled States, including Tamil Nadu, has a wide range of ramifications in the education sector because the fees for students enrolled under the Right to Education (RTE) is paid from the SSA funds.

Also the delay caused hardships to teachers under the scheme for the salaries were dependent on the release of the fund. The graph that is part of the story uploaded by Stalin in the X page compares 22 major States on 20 objectives of the SSA and Tamil Nadu is in the top half on 19 objectives.

Yet, it is States like Gujarat (on the top half for 8 objectives), Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (on the top half for 3 objectives) and (with 2 objectives) have received the funds but not Tamil Nadu, Kerala, which is among the best 11 States, Delhi (on the top half on 19 objectives) and West Bengal (on the top half of 15 objectives) and Punjab (on the top half of 12 objectives) have been denied the funds.

The States that are in the forefront of achieving SSA’s objectives have effectively bridged social and gender gaps, ensured equity and inclusion in school education, promoted vocational education and trained its teachers.