Overview

• The Supreme Court’s vacation bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan on June 9 refused to list Tamil Nadu’s Article 131 suit for an urgent hearing on its claim that over ₹2,151 crore in Samagra Shiksha funds was withheld.
• On June 10, the Madras High Court directed the Union government to reconsider linking Right to Education allocations to full implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 in Tamil Nadu.
• Tamil Nadu contends the Centre’s condition to implement NEP 2020 and sign an MoU for the PM SHRI Schools Scheme exceeds the original Samagra Shiksha mandate and lacks state consent.
• The withheld amount represents the Union’s 60% share of the ₹3,585.99 crore outlay for 2024–25, with non-disbursement affecting nearly 48 lakh students, 2.21 lakh teachers and 32,701 support staff.
• The dispute underscores broader questions of cooperative federalism as the DMK government seeks a declaration that the NEP and PM SHRI conditions are unconstitutional and non-binding.