Tamil Nadu Timeline

EducationContemporary Tamil Nadu

Dispute over NEP, three-language policy and school funds

· Chennai

Tamil Nadu refused to sign the PM SHRI agreement or adopt the three-language formula, and the Union withheld Samagra Shiksha funds.

The Union Ministry of Education linked the release of Samagra Shiksha funds to Tamil Nadu signing an agreement for the PM SHRI schools scheme under the National Education Policy 2020. The state government refused, saying the policy would impose a third language, Hindi, on students, and defended its two-language policy of Tamil and English. Statements by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in early 2025 set off a sharp political exchange and protests. In May 2025 Tamil Nadu filed a suit in the Supreme Court under Article 131 seeking release of about Rs. 2,000 crore of withheld funds.

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