Tamil Nadu has topped all southern states in the sanction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs and smart classrooms under the Centre-sponsored Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), according to data compiled by the state government from information tabled in Parliament. Over the five-year period from 2021-22 to 2025-26, the state secured the highest approvals in the region — yet officials say the bulk of the promised Central funds remain unreleased.

Tamil Nadu's Lead in ICT Infrastructure

The state was sanctioned 9,432 ICT labs between 2021-22 and 2025-26, the highest figure among all southern states. That number is nearly four times higher than Telangana, which ranked second in the region. For the 2025-26 academic year alone, Tamil Nadu received approval for 2,166 ICT labs, compared to 1,242 sanctioned for Telangana in the same period.

In smart classrooms, Tamil Nadu's lead is even more pronounced. Since the smart classroom component was introduced for the state in 2024-25, Tamil Nadu has been sanctioned 8,967 smart classrooms — nearly double the combined approvals for Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Financial Approvals and the Funding Gap

Tamil Nadu has also secured the largest financial approvals under the programme among southern states. The Centre approved ₹167 crore for the state for 2025-26, while the cumulative approval between 2021-22 and 2025-26 stood at ₹655.25 crore. However, state officials say the sanctioned amounts have not been disbursed, forcing Tamil Nadu to sustain operations entirely from its own budget.

Officials noted that the state has been bearing the cost of maintaining ICT infrastructure and paying the salaries of lab instructors — expenditure that runs into several crores of rupees annually.

What State Officials Said

M. Aarthi, Project Director of Samagra Shiksha in Tamil Nadu, said the state has been funding the programme from its own resources as Central assistance had not been released for the past three years. She said the delay had created operational challenges, particularly in meeting recurring expenses such as instructor salaries.

According to state officials, the Centre has withheld funds citing Tamil Nadu's non-implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) — a political flashpoint that has strained Centre-state relations on education for several years.

Broader Context

The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at strengthening school education from pre-primary to Class 12, with digital infrastructure as a key pillar. Tamil Nadu's dispute over NEP compliance is not new — the state government has consistently opposed several NEP provisions, including the three-language formula. The funding standoff means that despite leading the region in sanctions, the on-ground rollout faces resource constraints that could undermine the scheme's stated goals of technology-enabled learning in government schools.

With the Centre yet to release ₹655.25 crore in cumulative approvals, the question of whether sanctioned numbers translate into functional classrooms remains open — and politically charged.