India's PM SHRI scheme appoints 6,102 Sanskrit teachers vs 12 for Tamil, MP Su Venkatesan says

Under the centrally funded PM SHRI scheme, 13,092 schools have been selected so far out of a target of over 14,500. Union Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary disclosed that 6,102 Sanskrit teachers, 1,994 Urdu teachers and 9,152 teachers for regional languages have been appointed. In Tamil Nadu, only 12 teachers have been appointed to teach Tamil in the 36 PM SHRI schools, while 41 Sanskrit teachers serve the same scheme. Similar patterns appear in other states; for example, Madhya Pradesh has 1,211 Sanskrit teachers for its 944 PM SHRI schools.

Lok Sabha MP Su Venkatesan criticised the allocation, calling the three‑language formula a "sham" and highlighting that Sanskrit, spoken by roughly 24,000 people, receives far more teachers than Tamil, spoken by around 70 million. He urged the Union government to reconsider the language‑policy priorities within the scheme.