Professor Anbazhagan School Development Scheme – Annamalai Demands a White Paper from the Tamil Nadu Government
Tamil Nadu BJP State President Annamalai has urged the DMK government to release a white paper detailing the number of classrooms built under the Professor Anbazhagan School Development Scheme.
In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, he stated:
“An incident in Sengottai, Tenkasi district, where the roof of a government school collapsed, has raised serious concerns about the condition of school infrastructure in Tamil Nadu. Many government schools are on the verge of collapse due to poor maintenance, yet the government boasts about huge budget allocations for the education sector. Where is this money actually going?“
Discrepancies Between DMK’s Announcements and Actions
During the Tamil Nadu Assembly session, the Minister for School Education announced that under the Professor Anbazhagan School Development Scheme, the state has allocated ₹7,500 crore for constructing new buildings and upgrading schools.
Last year, the government had claimed that ₹2,497 crore was allocated for this scheme, and this year, another ₹1,000 crore has been set aside.
However, the scheme’s name itself is missing from the budgetary requests (grants-in-aid report), raising doubts about the actual implementation.
Instead, records suggest that funds from NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund were used to construct school buildings rather than funds specifically allocated for the Anbazhagan scheme.
Confusion Over Fund Allocation Continues
- In 2023-24, ₹560 crore was allocated under the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department to improve infrastructure in village panchayat primary and middle schools.
- However, not a single rupee was spent from this allocation, as revealed in the budget’s grants-in-aid report.
- Similarly, the current year’s fund allocation for school infrastructure has been reduced compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, School Education Minister Periyasamy has claimed that 6,000 new school buildings have been constructed across Tamil Nadu under the DMK government. However, many schools are still operating under trees, exposing the gap between government claims and ground reality.
Annamalai’s Strong Criticism of the DMK Government
“The DMK government is known for making grand announcements about schemes worth thousands of crores, but in reality, they fail to allocate sufficient funds in the grants-in-aid reports. This has become a habitual deception by the DMK administration.”
“Since the DMK came to power, how many classrooms have actually been built across Tamil Nadu?
Specifically, under the Professor Anbazhagan School Development Scheme, how many classrooms have been constructed?”
“To provide transparency, the Tamil Nadu government must immediately release a white paper with clear details.”
“It is unacceptable for the government to merely announce schemes without actually allocating the necessary funds for their execution.”
Key Takeaways
- Tamil Nadu’s government school infrastructure is deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.
- There are major discrepancies between the DMK government’s announcements and actual budget allocations.
- Annamalai demands that the government release a white paper detailing the number of classrooms built under the Anbazhagan School Development Scheme.
With these concerns in mind, Annamalai has called for greater transparency and accountability from the Tamil Nadu government regarding its education sector policies.
