Rs 3,300 crore has been withheld from Tamil Nadu via the NEP.
“Rs 3,300 crore has been withheld from Tamil Nadu via the NEP.”Rahul Gandhi, Chhatron Ki Goonj rally, Chennai, 10 October 2026
Rated Misleading
The facts
This claim is misleading because it hides key facts about the funding dispute and ignores the Centre’s investment in Tamil Nadu’s education.
Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary stated in July 2026 that Rs 713.99 crore had been released to Tamil Nadu under the Right to Education entitlements component for 2025–26 and 2024–25.244
Tamil Nadu’s total Samagra Shiksha allocation (Centre + state share) rose from Rs 3,055 crore in 2021–22 to Rs 3,535 crore in 2023–24, an increase of nearly 16%.245
From 2021–22 to 2025–26, the Centre allocated approximately Rs 9,945 crore as its share under Samagra Shiksha for Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu received approvals for 100 RUSA projects worth Rs 873.95 crore, including a central share of Rs 527.83 crore. Of this, Rs 453.10 crore was released.246
When almost all states have signed the PM SHRI MoU to improve school standards, why have Tamil Nadu’s governments, under the TVK and previously the DMK, refused to do so? Don’t they want quality government schools?