Amid NEP row, Madras HC tells Centre to consider paying RTE funds to T.N. by delinking it from Samagra Shiksha

Madras High Court directs Union Ministry of Education to split funds for Tamil Nadu under Samagra Shiksha scheme.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (June 10, 2025) directed the Union Ministry of Education to consider splitting the disbursal of funds to the Tamil Nadu government under its flagship Samagra Shiksha scheme, so that money needed to reimburse private schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act can be disbursed.

The RTE component amounts to about ₹200 crore, while the total amount pending to Tamil Nadu under the SSS amounts to ₹2,151.59 crore, amidst a row over the State’s refusal to implement the National Education Policy, 2020.

The court also told the State government that non-receipt of funds from the Centre cannot be used as a “reason to wriggle out” of its own obligation to pay the private schools.

A Division Bench of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan noted that the Centre had some issues in releasing SSS funds as the State government has not adopted the NEP. However, it has an independent obligation under the RTE Act of 2009, which has nothing to do with non-adoption of NEP, the judges said.

“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 Division Bench observed.

Since the Tamil Nadu government had already filed a civil suit before the Supreme Court demanding release of SSS funds of ₹2,151.59 crore, the judges said: “We are not in a position to issue any binding direction in this regard,” and stopped with issuing a direction to the Centre to merely “consider” delinking the RTE component from the SSS funds and disbursing the amount accordingly.

On the other hand, taking note of various judicial precedents, the Division Bench directed the State government to reimburse the private schools which make admissions under the RTE Act. “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,” the court observed.