It was a few nervous moments before the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG 2020) were declared on Friday for Jeevithkumar. He had written NEET for the second time in 2020 and the outcome this time was crucial for him. However, as the results flashed on his screen, his years’ worth of hard work flashed in front of his eyes, this time accompanied with the sweet taste of success -- he had scored 664 out of 720 marks and had grabbed the 1823rd rank at the national level. Jeevithkumar is also at the top of the list of students from government schools across the country, who had written NEET this year.
Jeevithkumar’s story is one of sheer determination and dreams. The eldest son of Parameswari and Narayanamoorthi who earn their living as daily wage labourers in Vadipatti, Jeevith studied in model Government School, staying in a hostel, in Theni’s Periyakulam town. He completed his class 12 in 2019 and had attempted NEET once last year. However, as it would have, he was able to score only 193 marks in his first attempt. Jeevith had, in fact, scored 548 out of 600 marks in his class 12 board exams and was among the top-scorers in Theni district.
“In 2019, I attempted NEET for the first time and I had to write with the portions I prepared for the board examinations. I felt that the exam was very difficult and I was able to score only 193 marks. I was definitely frustrated,” a relieved Jeevith told TNM from Vadipatti over the phone.
It was at such a juncture that a few of his teachers from school helped him out. They pitched in whatever they could and enrolled him in a private coaching centre in Namakkal, with the collective aim of helping him clear NEET, which is a stepping stone to become a doctor in India. It also meant Jeevith would have to sit out a year from attending any other course or college.
“My teachers enrolled me in the coaching centre and they also took care of my finances. When I went there I thought I was going to study in Tamil medium but only when I reached Namakkal I realized all the teachers are from Andhra Pradesh and I had to study in English. It was challenging but I never gave up,” he said. His time in Namakkal was spent solely towards cracking NEET and he studied for 12-13 hours a day.
In NEET 2020, Jeevithkumar scored 99.6% in Physics, 99.6% in Chemistry and 99.8% in Biology, thus making it to the top 2000 ranks at the All India level. His childhood ambition of returning to his village as a doctor is one step closer now. “My brother will become the first doctor from the village. In our village many people are not educated so there were no doctors or MBBS aspirants in the past,” his sister told TNM.