Jhajjar (Haryana)/Jehanabad (Bihar): Murari Lal retired as Subedar from the Army several years ago. A resident of Dhakla village in Jhajjar district of Haryana, he now had only one dream: one of his grandchildren becomes a doctor and another a judge. His grandson cleared the judiciary exam this year but met a tragic death just four days before the results were announced. The dream, in a way, had been fulfilled, and yet couldn’t be actualised.
His teenage granddaughter Khushi picked up the remaining thread. She toiled hard. Admission into the most coveted AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), Delhi, was her only ambition.
This year, Khushi scored 711 out of 720 in the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) exam. In any other year, the score could have easily secured her a seat at the AIIMS. However, with the NEET exam embroiled in a range of controversies, she is now unsure of her future.
“My both grandchildren worked very hard, but one of them left the world before witnessing his success, and we still don’t know whether the girl will get admission or not,” says Murari Lal, with a tinge of helplessness in his voice.
Khushi completed her schooling up to Class 12 from Sanskaram Public School in Jhajjar before she prepared for NEET for a year at a coaching institute in Rajsthan’s Sikar.
Sanskaram School has congratulated Khushi by sharing this poster from its official Facebook handle. Photo: Facebook/Sanskaram Public School.
Khushi’s father, Pawan Kumar, is a retired sergeant (havildar) from the Army and is currently serving as a Special Police Officer in the Haryana Police. He said, “I am proud of my child. Whatever happens next is not in our control.”
Khushi does not want the entire exam to be re-conducted because she, understandably, is not confident about securing similar marks in a fresh attempt. She wants only the students who received grace marks to appear for a re-exam. She hopes that after the re-exam, she will rank among the top forty-fifty candidates and secure a seat at AIIMS.
Sudhanshu Ranjan. Photo: Special Arrangement.
A contrasting tale is of 24-year-old Sudhanshu Ranjan. A resident of Amain village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, he had appeared in this year’s NEET exam for the sixth time, and scored 570 marks. The score would usually secure admission for a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree. However, the range of irregularities has pushed the cutoff score to absurd levels this year, ensuring that he may not even secure a seat in Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS).
Sudhanshu’s father is a teacher at a higher secondary government school in Bihar. Sudhanshu lives in Patna for his NEET preparation. In previous years, he had scored enough marks in NEET to easily secure an admission in private medical colleges, but his family could not afford to pay their fees. He is now worried about his future, and wants the NEET exam to be canceled and re-conducted.
With the case of NEET now under judicial scrutiny, the students have differing opinions about it. Some students, who hope to do better in the next attempt, want the entire exam to be re-conducted, while those who have performed well in the exam, do not want the exam to be cancelled because they are not sure if they can perform well again.
Both the groups of students are conjoined by a single thread – uncertainty about their future.