10,000 classrooms constructed in State under Professor Anbazhagan School Development Scheme, says Minister
The School Education Minister and Tourism Minister R. Rajendran on Tuesday inaugurated new buildings at Elampillai Government Boys Higher Secondary School, which was constructed under the Namma School Namma Ooru Palli scheme at ₹2 crore by a private firm.
At the function, Mr. Rajendran said the Chief Minister was giving more importance to the Education Department and allocating more funds and implementing numerous special schemes. Due to this, the percentage of students completing higher education had increased and Tamil Nadu topped the country in terms of more students going for higher education, the Minister added.
Listing out the schemes implemented by the government, Mr. Anbil Mahesh said students studying in government schools from tribal areas were getting seats in IITs in Chennai and Pune, and NIT in Tiruchi. The government schools are a proud identity and not a poverty identity, he added.
As Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said, students should study and education alone lifted them. The Chief Minister started the Namma Ooru Palli scheme by providing his own money of ₹5 lakh. Through various companies, buildings worth ₹658.67 crore were constructed in schools till April 2025, the Minister added.
In the function, a private hospital announced that they were providing ₹1 crore for the scheme.
District Collector R. Brindha Devi, MP T.M. Selvaganapathi, MLA E.R. Eswaran, Chief Educational Officer M. Kabir and officials participated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Arignar Anna leadership awards presented to 100 heads of govt schools
Trichy: School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and municipal minister K N Nehru on Sunday presented Arignar Anna awards to 100 heads of govt schools across the state along with 76 Perasiriyar Anbazhagan awards to schools for their performance. Speaking at the event here in Trichy, the minister said, "If Anna had not promoted the two-language policy, today we would have lost our mother tongue, Tamil. We would have been a group that had lost its rights and was enslaved to some language." Certificates of appreciation were also given to 4,552 schools that participated in the 100-day challenge for learning achievement. Nehru heaped praise for the education ministry and stated that the DMK govt holds teachers in high regard. Out of the 100 heads across the state, four are from Trichy. P Amsavalli from Puthur corporation elementary school, R Marseline Regina Mary panchayat union middle school in Pappampatti in Vayampatti block, N P Murugesan from govt high school in Poonampallyam, Manchanallur block, are E Rajashree from govt higher secondary in S Ayaampalayam, Manchanallur block got awards and funds worth 10 lakh for building campus infrastructure. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Start Here - 2025 Top Trend Local network access control Esseps Learn More Undo Out of the 76 Anbazhagan awardees from 38 revenue districts, two schools are from Trichy - Puthur corporation elementary school and Syed Murtaza govt higher secondary school. Sources said these heads were selected based on various parameters such as contribution to improve education, admission, result, cleanliness of the campus, and a longer pattern of the school performance overall. The event also was attended by state, district education officials, district collector V Saravanan among others.
Mint
2 days ago
- Mint
Trump's $7 billion education funding freeze blindsides schools
On Monday, state education leaders across the country got a brief but startling email from the Education Department. Nearly $7 billion in education funding—which Congress had approved and President Trump signed into law in March—wouldn't be released as expected the following day. The email didn't elaborate on why, mentioning a review. With the new school year not far off, the funding freeze has sent superintendents from California to Rhode Island scrambling to figure out how to handle a shortfall. The money had been earmarked for a range of activities, including after-school programs, teacher training, adult education and support for students learning English. 'It's too late to be making this kind of a decision," said Eric Mackey, the Alabama state superintendent, who describes himself as an 'old-fashioned fiscal conservative." On Tuesday, the association of state education chiefs convened an emergency meeting, as their members tried to advise confused district leaders. Advocacy groups attacked the decision as illegal, and educators began contemplating how to plan for the coming school year. Cheryl Jordan, the superintendent of a diverse, midsize district near San Jose, Calif., said she had planned to use some of the funds for teachers of students learning English and for an onboarding program for new teachers. If the money isn't released, it would leave a roughly $1.5 million hole in the district's budget. It's too late to make cuts for this school year, Jordan said, so the district would then accumulate a deficit and have to make deeper cuts the following school year. 'It will definitely greatly impact us," she said. Armen Tooloee, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the move reflected an 'ongoing programmatic review" and that 'no decisions have been made yet." He added that 'initial findings" from the review show that grants had gone to 'subsidize a radical leftwing agenda." Tooloee said that in one instance a grant had 'promote[d] illegal immigrant advocacy organizations." He didn't say what share of the funding has gone to uses that OMB deems inappropriate. The administration has made similar arguments for withholding funds for other federal initiatives, including for NPR and USAID. Mackey of Alabama said he wasn't aware of instances of such uses of funds in his state, and would want them brought to his attention if the administration were aware of any. The billions of dollars in question amount to less than 1% of total money spent on public schools. But the grants are spread widely across thousands of school districts and every state in the country. Chase Christensen, the superintendent and school principal of an 83-student district in northern Wyoming, said he had planned to use the funds to help train teachers on a new math curriculum and to continue a self-defense program. Without that money, he can probably preserve the teacher training but he isn't sure about the self-defense course, which Christensen says has boosted students' self-confidence. In Durham County, N.C., Superintendent Anthony Lewis is concerned about a dozen or so federally funded instructional coaches who mentor and support new teachers. Lewis doesn't know whether the money will ultimately come through or whether he should try to find another funding source. 'It's impacting our ability to plan effectively for this coming year," he said. The Trump administration has several possible next moves. It could ask Congress to approve the cancellation of these funds. It previously sought congressional approval for other withheld federal dollars. In a recent Senate hearing, OMB Director Russell Vought said further requests are 'certainly an option." The administration could on its own not distribute the funds—which would set up a challenge to a federal law that bars the executive from unilaterally withholding congressionally approved dollars. The administration could ultimately restore the grants, or some of them, after its review. Thomas Beck, an attorney who was on the Trump transition team where he wrote memos about withholding federal funds, said the administration might argue that states and schools have failed to adhere to the terms of the education grants. Lawmakers from both parties have raised objections. 'This funding was appropriated by Congress and is critical to Maine public school programs," Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said. Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) also criticized the move. This is the Trump administration's latest effort to cut federal dollars for local schools and shrink the Education Department's budget. Officials have argued that the department and some of its programs have proven ineffective. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon revoked a previously approved extension for spending Covid-relief money. A federal judge recently blocked this move, and schools have been able to tap in to this funding again. The administration has appealed. Angélica Infante-Green, the commissioner of education in Rhode Island, said she was particularly worried about withheld funding that has been used to train teachers in science-based reading instruction. 'It's just been so very chaotic for the last six months," she said. 'This is just another layer of that chaos." Write to Matt Barnum at
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
'We Don't Need No Education': Trump Freezes $7 Billion in School Funds Over ‘Radical Left' Review
We don't need no education (Image generated by AI) 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control…' Pink Floyd's 1979 anthem was a scathing critique of rigid schooling systems. But in 2025 America, its chorus has taken on a new, unintended meaning. As schools scramble to prepare for a new academic year, the Trump administration has abruptly withheld nearly $7 billion in federal funding, plunging teachers, parents, and nonprofits into chaos. The money, approved by Congress and signed into law by President Trump himself in March, was meant to fund after-school programs, English-language learning, migrant education, and teacher development. Instead, a last-minute notice to state education agencies declared the funds 'under review', with no timeline for release. Here are five key points to understand what happened and why it matters: 1. What was withheld? At stake is $6–7 billion covering six major federal grant programs critical to educational equity: 21st Century Community Learning Centers, the nation's only federal after-school and summer program, supporting millions of low-income students with safe environments, homework help, and enrichment activities. Title II teacher training grants, used to improve teaching quality and professional development. English-language learning (ELL) support, enabling immigrant and multilingual students to keep pace. Migrant education programs, helping children of farmworkers and food industry labourers remain on grade level despite frequent moves. Academic enrichment and mental health support, including STEM initiatives, college counselling, and mental wellness services. For example, in rural Madison County, Alabama, the CARE Center has halted all student registration and hiring. 'We cannot register children. We cannot purchase materials and supplies. We cannot hire staff or contractors to provide the programming and safety for those children,' said executive director Andrea Bridges. 2. How did it happen? The Education Department notified states just before the scheduled July 1 distribution that the funds were frozen for a 'programmatic review.' While briefings cited a 'change in Administrations,' further clarification came from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Despite these funds having been signed into law by Trump in March, the administration is now demanding a review to ensure spending aligns with its ideological goals, effectively bypassing the congressional appropriation process and injecting financial uncertainty into school district planning. 3. Who is affected? The freeze's impacts are immediate and nationwide: Nonprofits are suspending after-school programs, leaving working parents scrambling to arrange childcare in states like Alabama and Ohio. School districts are delaying hiring decisions, risking teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms in the coming semester. Community centres fear staff layoffs, especially in migrant education programs that support children of seasonal agricultural workers. Francisco Garcia, executive director of the Interstate Migrant Education Council, warned the move could devastate children whose parents move frequently to harvest America's food supply. 'These are the families that put food on America's tables,' he said. 'If they don't have support for their children, it's going to impact the agricultural community, the dairy community – I don't think folks making the decisions get that. ' Rebecca Kelley of the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati echoed these concerns. 'Low-income families need this kind of backbone support. The freeze just makes our families and children pawns in some political battle,' she said. 4. Why is Trump doing it? According to the OMB, the administration is investigating whether school districts have used federal grants to fund a 'radical leftwing agenda.' This includes: Scholarships for undocumented immigrant students. LGBTQ-inclusive programs and events, such as 'queer resistance in the arts.' No final decisions have been made yet, but education advocates see the move as part of Trump's broader ideological drive to reshape federal spending in line with his priorities, regardless of legal appropriations. Frederick M. Hess, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted: 'The president's priorities, whether Republican or Democrat, do not trump the law of the land. These funds have been authorised and appropriated by Congress.' 5. What is the bigger picture? The funding freeze is not merely a bureaucratic pause. It reflects a deliberate effort to test executive power against Congress. Key context: The administration is testing the boundaries of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a law designed to prevent presidents from unilaterally overturning congressional spending decisions. Trump's 2026 budget proposal eliminates these six grant programs entirely, as part of a broader $12 billion cut to the Education Department, consolidating them into a single block grant with reduced funding and state discretion. The Education Department under Trump has already moved to cancel billions in K-12 grants and contracts and has sought to halve its workforce. Democratic lawmakers warn the freeze may be illegal, with multiple lawsuits expected. Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia said: 'This Administration's plan to deny states resources previously allocated to them and refusal to distribute the funds as allocated by Congress violates the law.' The bottom line Pink Floyd may have railed against oppressive schools in 1979, but in 2025 America, it is not the students rebelling against teachers – it is the government pulling the plug on education itself. As schools brace for a new year, teachers face layoffs, nonprofits suspend essential services, and parents scramble to protect their children's futures, the message from Washington feels eerily clear: 'We don't need no education.' Is your child ready for the careers of tomorrow? Enroll now and take advantage of our early bird offer! Spaces are limited.
