Six students from Mumbai’s infamous Govandi slum have cleared the NEET 2020 medical entrance, setting an example for students across the country.
Proving to be an inspiration for students across the country, six students from Govandi slum in Mumbai’s eastern suburban area have set an example for children who want to accomplish their goals and dreams as they have cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year.
All the six medical aspirants hail from the Govandi slum in Mumbai, which is known for criminal and drug cases in the city. The students cleared the exam against all odds and will soon be studying medicine in MBBS colleges.
One of the NEET qualifiers, Jaiba Khan whose father is a doctor, told ANI that she became determined to crack the medical entrance exam after witnessing a shortage of doctors during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jaiba said, “Since my childhood, I was clear that I will become a doctor like my father. I have grown seeing my father working for needy people.”
“Though it was not an easy task to clear NEET, a proper schedule of studies and planning helped me clear this exam. We saw how the shortage of doctors affected us during the COVID crisis. I was determined to crack it,” she added, as per ANI reports.
Aim to treat the poor: Student
Saif Asif Jogle, another student who cleared the exam from the slum, is the son of a catering service provider and ended up scoring 591 marks out of 720 in the exam. He said that he wanted to become a doctor as he has seen how poor people struggled to get treatment.
“During my childhood, I have seen my parents and people with weak financial background struggling to get treatment. With an aim to work for them in the future, I decided to become a doctor,” he said.
He further added, “I have the full support of my parents. Govandi is known for many negative reasons but I kept myself away from that. I kept my friend circle limited so that I could stay away from others to focus on my studies.”
Doctors avoiding visits to Govandi
Dr. Zahid Khan, who formed a local association of doctors in the Govandi area, said that most of the doctors avoid coming to the area as it has been associated with several criminal and drug-related activities in the past.
Dr. Khan said, “So, we have decided to motivate our own children to become not only doctors but engineer lawyers, etc. Our association holds an annual function every year where we educate parents and felicitate students who score good marks in high school. We also guide them to pursue career-oriented studies.”
This year, six students have cleared the NEET exam and got admission into several medical colleges, he said. “If we get good support from the government, the number of students qualifying NEET may increase in future from 6 to 18 per year,” he added.
Maharashtra’s Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik also said, “Many government schemes already exist for bright students of the slums area. Among these six students, we have already given a government scholarship to two students. We are proud of them.”
Source: Indiatoday