Tamil Nadu minister meets Dharmendra Pradhan over release of Rs 2,152 crore SSA funds

Tamil Nadu school education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met with Union minister for education Dharmendra Pradhan today, seeking immediate release of pending Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds of Rs 2,152 crore for the financial year 2024-25.

He also sought the release of the first installment of SSA funds for the year 2025 to Tamil Nadu. The meeting was also attended by Kavinar Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, chairman, parliamentary committee, along with Chandra Mohan, principal secretary, school education department, and Ma Arthi, state project director, integrated school education.

Following the meeting, Pradhan took to his X handle and described it as a “delightful meeting.” He added by saying that several key aspects of school education were discussed in a fruitful manner.

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MK Stalin met Pradhan in March over pending SSA funds

Notably, this is not the first time that ministers from Tamil Nadu have met and urged the Union government to release the withheld SSA funds.

In March 2025, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin also appealed to the Union government to release the pending SSA funds for the state. He stated that the allocation was withheld because the state had not signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union education ministry regarding the ‘PM Shri’ scheme.

"Particularly, nearly Rs. 2,200 crore of Union funds have been denied to Tamil Nadu in the year 2024-2025. This affects the education of children studying in government schools and children studying under Right to Education Act ( RTE). Therefore, I urge you to release this fund without delay and without insisting on unilateral conditions," Stalin said in March.

He further stated that withholding the funds due to legal or political disagreements undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and could hinder the overall development of both the state and the nation.