NEP: Withholding funds will affect students, teachers, cautions TN Minister Poyyamozhi

CHENNAI: The BJP-led central government’s decision to withhold funds under Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) poses the danger of the education of thousands of students in Tamil Nadu being affected, said School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters at Kootapuli in Tirunelveli, Minister Poyyamozhi said that the Union government had already withheld Rs 230 crore, the final instalment of last year, and is now refusing to release the first instalment of Rs 540 crore that is due in June because Tamil Nadu did not agree to implement the contentious National Education Policy (NEP).

"This will directly result in more than 15,000 teachers in Tamil Nadu not being paid," he cautioned. The School Education Department would decide on the further course of action after discussing the matter with Chief Minister MK Stalin.

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Poyyamozhi said that the Union government was planning to open hundreds of new schools, but because the terms of NEP are not clear, the Tamil Nadu government did not accept it.

"Only after a discussion can we take a decision about this. But the central government has to understand that we are asking for funds that were already allocated to us for education," he said. The Minister further pointed out that it was unfair to impose conditions and withhold funds that were already promised.