NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has strongly criticised the Centre for withholding Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal for not adopting the PM Shri scheme, calling the move “unjustifiable.” The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, led by Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, has recommended the immediate release of pending funds and urged for an “amicable” resolution. The three states have refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre to implement PM Schools for Rising India (PM Shri), a flagship scheme aimed at upgrading over 14,000 schools to align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In response, the Centre withheld SSA funds, another key programme intended to achieve universal elementary education as mandated by the 86th Constitutional Amendment, which guarantees free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14. “The Committee has taken serious note of the non-release of SSA funds to certain states which have not signed MoUs for the implementation of the PM Shri scheme,” said the report submitted on Wednesday.
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