COURTESY HT OCT 26

Among govt school toppers, stories of hope and aspiration
HT Correspondent

htreporters@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : Tamanna Goyal, 20, a resident of Shahbad Dairy, wanted to study medicine after being inspired by her mother, who works at a private clinic for a Rs 6,000 a month. Goyal, who graduated from the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in Rohini’s Sector 11 Rohini cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year and ranked 173rd overall and 11th in the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) category.

“Though the way the health care workers were treated during the Covid-19 pandemic and the risks they were exposed to briefly did make me question my choice, eventually, I knew I had to serve as a doctor,” she said.

Goyal was among the 20 students from Delhi’s government schools who cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and NEET entrance tests and met chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, on Saturday.

Goyal said she was “excited to meet the chief minister and deputy chief minister.”

“During our interaction, the students were each talking about their journey in front of top officials of the education department. It made me very emotional and reminded me of my own struggles and I broke down. The CM and deputy CM encouraged me to excel. Several other students have been inspired and approached us for our notes and guidance,” said Goyal, who wishes to study at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Around 569 students from Delhi government schools, of whom 379 are girls, qualified for NEET this year, 443 cleared the JEE Mains and 53 cleared the JEE Advanced, becoming eligible for admissions to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) across the country.

Of the 1,597,433 candidates who registered for NEET this year, the government said around 85-90% students appeared for the exams.

Of 858,000 applicants for JEE Mains, 635,000 had appeared for the engineering test from September 1 to 6.

Kejriwal and Sisodia congratulated the students and their parents for their performance despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis in the Capital and across the country.

“Our contribution to the service of the nation must not stop. This is a long journey and many people have worked hard to reach this stage. Our dream is ‘Shikshit Rashtra, Samarth Rashtra.’ We will only be able to strengthen our nation through a strong education system... I would also like to request you all to guide your juniors, take responsibility for at least 10 children from families just like you, and explain to them the significance of NEET-JEE. When you become a doctor or an engineer, please work with all honesty and dedication,” Sisodia said.

Kejriwal praised the students for their achievements, since many of them did not take coaching for the medical and engineering entrance exams.

“It is a general perception that no one can clear NEET-JEE exams without coaching. I took coaching, my son and my daughter took coaching, but the students sitting here clearing the exams without coaching is commendable. Every child sitting here is a diamond, equipped with so much raw intelligence. This is not the end, this is a single innings and you have to go a long way,” he said.

On the day, chief minister Kejriwal also requested the Delhi government’s education department to start providing coaching to NEET-JEE aspirants.

“I also want to request the education department to start providing coaching to the aspirants so that more and more school students qualify for the exams and the existing students also perform well,” Kejriwal said.

Himanshi, a former student of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in the Capital’s Nand Nagri area, ranked 1,181st in NEET.

“It has been challenging — especially during the pandemic. But the toughest phase is when you think to yourself that you will not be able to crack the exam. Once we get past that phase, we can always succeed. I wanted to be a doctor because if we can save a life, there is nothing more that we can want from your life,” said the teenager, whose father works as a driver.