Rather than Navodaya schools, cooperate in running existing model schools, TN tells Centre in SC

The Tamil Nadu government had argued in the Supreme Court that the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme was “fundamentally incompatible” with the two-language policy followed by the state.

The state, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson and advocate Sabarish Subramanium, said in an affidavit that the trilingual formula navodaya scheme would necessarily entail deviation from the terms of reference of the Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, 2006.

“Such a deviation is legally unacceptable and would be contrary to the established legal framework of the State,” the affidavit said.

The trilingual formula is considered the basic pedagogical and administrative framework of the programme. It required compulsory education in Hindi, English and mother tongue/regional language.

The Tamil Nadu government claimed that the imposition of the scheme was a “backdoor” tactic to make Hindi compulsory.

The stated objectives of navodaya are already well established in Tamil Nadu, which includes providing quality residential education to meritorious students from rural and economically weaker sections, the state said.

He said the state has set up 38 model residential schools in each district with a capital outlay of ₹ 50 crore each. The operation and maintenance of all 38 residential schools cost approximately ₹ 210 crore and were fully borne by the State government.

The State said it had met representatives of the Center in January 2026 to urge the Union government to provide financial support to schools to prevent duplication of institutions, preserve State legislative autonomy and achieve national education goals through existing infrastructure.

The affidavit emphasized on non-release of Central share approved under Samagra Shiksha Scheme.

The total Central share approved under Samagra Shiksha amounts to ₹ 13,998.82 crore for financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, it said.

“Of this approved amount, only ₹450.60 crore has been released by the Government of India under Right to Education benefits. This has resulted in a pending amount of ₹3,548.22 crore… These funds are required for payment of salaries of teachers, infrastructure maintenance, student welfare programs and other essential education activities. Delays in release create significant financial pressure on the State,” the affidavit said.