Chennai, Aug 8:
Finance Minister N. Maria Wilson on Friday rejected the AIADMK’s allegation that the TVK government had reduced allocations for school education, asserting in the Assembly that funding for education would never be compromised and that non-salary expenditure had, in fact, been increased in the Revised Budget for 2026-27.
Replying to AIADMK MLA Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy during the debate on the Revised Budget and Revised Agriculture Budget, Wilson said allocations must be assessed based on revised estimates and actual expenditure rather than Budget Estimates alone.
He pointed out that under the previous DMK regime, the School Education Department’s allocation of ₹44,042 crore in the 2024-25 Budget Estimate was revised to ₹40,412 crore, with actual expenditure at ₹38,759 crore. Similarly, the 2025-26 allocation of ₹46,766 crore was revised to ₹43,192 crore, with actual spending at ₹42,351 crore.
“For 2026-27, the Interim Budget earmarked ₹8,176 crore towards non-salary expenditure for school education. In the Revised Budget, this has been increased to ₹8,203 crore. We have not reduced funds. The government led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will never compromise on school education or any form of education,” Wilson said.
Earlier, Krishnamurthy alleged that the Revised Budget had lowered the overall allocation for the School Education Department and accused the government of repackaging AIADMK-era welfare schemes under new names. Referring to schemes such as free bicycles, laptops and goat distribution, he asked, “You promised change. Is this the change?”
Ministers R. Nirmalkumar and Aadhav Arjuna rejected the charge, maintaining that no welfare scheme had been discontinued. Aadhav Arjuna said the government had retained Amma Unavagam without renaming it and strengthened its functioning through additional financial support.
AIADMK floor leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the controversy could have been avoided if the government had retained the original names of schemes, while DMK deputy opposition leader K.N. Nehru defended the continuation of Amma Unavagam during the previous regime and disputed claims that it had received exclusive government funding.