Kota Srinivas Poojary, Udupi–Chikkamagaluru MP, speaking after inaugurating an MSME and start-up conclave at Red Cross Prerana Hall, in Mangaluru, on Friday

| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

For political reasons, students of 48,000 government schools in the State have been denied the benefits of the National Education Policy (NEP), Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament (MP) Kota Srinivas Poojary said in Mangaluru on Friday.Inaugurating a one-day MSME and start-up conclave, Mr. Poojary said the NEP comes with initiatives, including skill development for students. Most poor students study in government schools and they have been denied NEP benefits. But students in private institutions, including those run by politicians such as G. Parameshwara, M.B. Patil and K.S. Eshwarappa, are reaping the benefits of the NEP.“Purely for political reasons, students of government schools in the State have been denied NEP benefits. Unfortunately, government school students are in a state of perplexity,” the MP said.While stating that the State and Union governments can only provide government jobs to only 1% of the population, Mr. Poojary said self-employment is the new norm in the country. More people are turning into wealth creators and job providers. Giving an instance, the MP said nearly 1.49 crore people had registered for MSME loans and loans amounting to more than ₹15 lakh crore had been availed of by them. The Union government was acting as a guarantor for loans availed of by MSMEs. “An Udupi woman has invested in ACs to grow saffron by recreating the cold conditions of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.Mentioning the progress made by the country, Mr. Poojary said in the 1990s the country had to pledge a part of its gold reserves with foreign countries to revive the sagging economy. Now, the government has reached a stage where it is lending to other countries. More than 12 crore houses in the country now have toilets. “I am pained that the youth do not know the accomplishments of the country,” he said, in an indirect reference to comments made by youth against the Union government during the protests held across the country against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.The day-long conclave was organised jointly by the Mangalore Productivity Council and the Rotary Club of Mangalore Central. Published - August 21, 2026 06:57 pm IST