Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that the Ministry of Education amicably resolve the differences with West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu over non-release of funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), and settle their dues of over ₹4,000 crore on priority basis.
The committee tabled its report in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The observations come at a time when the Centre and Tamil Nadu government are at loggerheads over stoppage of funds meant for Samagra Shiksha after the State refused to implement the three-language formula under new National Education Policy (NEP) and sign the MoU related to building PM-SHRI schools.
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“The committee has taken serious note of the non-release of SSA funds to certain States which have not signed MoUs for implementation of PM Shri scheme. The total funds pending under this scheme to the States are considerable, with over ₹1,000 crore to West Bengal, ₹. 859.63 crore to Kerala, and ₹2,152 crore to Tamil Nadu,” said the report by the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
The committee also noted that 33 out of 36 States and Union Territories had signed the MoU for PM SHRI and are implementing the scheme and developing NEP exemplar schools, so as to create an equivalence in assessment and curriculum at the national level.
The Education Department informed the Committee that PM SHRI is a model school scheme developed under the NEP, and the SSA is the programme to achieve the NEP goals.
“This appears to be the reasoning behind the decision to halt SSA grants to States not signing the PM SHRI MoU. However, the committee takes the view that this reasoning is not factual or justified,” the committee noted.
‘SSA predates PM SHRI‘
The committee further stated that the SSA predates PM SHRI and is intended to help States achieve the targets of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. “The RTE is a law duly passed by Parliament and confers education as a fundamental right onto every child. The SSA, as a scheme that enforces the fundamental right-based RTE, cannot be bypassed by the NEP, which was an executive policy statement,” the report noted.
The committee further observed that States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had demonstrated strong educational outcomes with a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), significantly above the national average. “However, underfunding and delays in transfer of SSA funds have constrained further advancements in their school infrastructure, teacher training, and student support. These States have been compelled to use their own funds to pay salaries to teachers and resource personnel due to delays in release of Central allocations,” the report stated.
Salaries hit
During FY 2024-25, States like Tamil Nadu was allocated ₹3,586 crore under the SSA, with the Union government expected to contribute ₹2,152 crore. However, this amount has not been released despite repeated requests by the State governments. “The withholding of funds is severely impacting teachers’ salaries, RTE reimbursements, and transportation for students in remote areas,” the report noted.
The committee further observed that withholding the funds under SSA to States for not entering into MoU for separate schemes like PM SHRI is not justifiable.
The committee has recommended to the Ministry of Education to immediate release pending SSA funds to States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to prevent disruption in salaries, teachers training programmes, and school infrastructure maintenance.
It also noted that the Education Ministry should re-evaluate SSA funding allocations and ensure that none of the States are placed in disadvantageous positions for not accepting NEP 2020 or PM SHRI Scheme.
Published – March 26, 2025 11:13 pm IST
