Maharashtra: Sixteen students from remote Gadchiroli, Melghat clear NEET

Sixteen students from remote villages of Gadchiroli and Melghat in Maharashtra are a step closer to fulfilling their dream of becoming doctors after clearing the undergraduate NEET the results of which were declared on Tuesday reported PTINational EligibilityCumEntrance Test NEET is a single entrance test for admissions to MBBS Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and BDS Bachelor of Dental Surgery colleges across IndiaAccording to news agency PTI these candidates from the Vidarbha region were part of 30 students who were given free coaching for two years by Lift For Upliftment LFU an organisation founded by students and alumni of B J Medical College in PuneThe students from Gadchiroli and Melghat areas often associated with Naxalism and poor social indicators were taught by doctors and those pursuing their studies at the Pune medical college The mentors used to visit the organisations study centres in Osmanabad and Gachiroli districtsTarang Vairagade from Chandanweli village in Ettapalli Takula of Gachiroli district shared that he scored 501 out of 720 marks in NEET 2023 The 18yearold lives with his grandmother and mother who works on a farm and does tailoring to make ends meetVairagade who lost his father in childhood said he went to the local schools and learnt about LFUs free coaching from a teacher The teenager said he received offline as well as online coaching The mentors cleared his basics and helped him improve his EnglishThe teenager is expecting to get admission to the MBBS course iquestI want to return to my native place after medical education and serve the people hereiquest he saidAkash Kodyami 18 from Gavadhetti village of Gadchiroli scored 464 out of 720 Kodyami whose family is into farming went to a local staterun ashram shala and a friend told him about the free coaching instituteThe tribal teen said they speak the Gondi language and he had trouble learning English But a dictionary made by LFU that had Gondi words translated into English boosted his confidence he saidThe mentors helped me prepare for the board exam as well as NEET said Kodyami who is expecting a medical seat Like Vairagade he too wants to serve his people after completing his education In a release LFU cofounder Dr Ketan Deshmukh said medical entrance coaching has grown into an industry worth crores of rupees but not everyone can afford the feesWe want to give a fair and accessible platform for anybody who wants to become a doctor and comes from marginalised and underprivileged backgrounds After an entrance test and interview we select the students for coaching he saidThe organisation has a special batch for the Vidarbha region in Bhamragarh in Gadchiroli district Every week doctors and senior medical students visit Bhamragarh to deliver lectures while some lectures are delivered online said DedhmukhTalking about this years NEET results he said With these 16 students at least 16 villages are uplifted In the next ten years we wish to have 100 tribal students from Gadchiroli and Melghat each become doctorsHe said many students trained by them are now studying in medical colleges and some have even joined LFU as teaching faculty