NEET 2021: How Delhi Govt school students cracked MBBS exam

Over 8.70 lakh candidates qualified for NEET 2021 which were conducted at 3,858 centres in 13 languages. The NEET-UG exam was held on September 12, 2021

“It is my childhood dream to become a Doctor. However, things became clearer when I joined RPVV in Class 11. I took medical, my teachers were extremely supportive and encouraging. I don’t belong to a financially sound family, we could not afford so much money to put in coaching classes, says Ishika, one of the 25 students from Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) Paschim Vihar who qualified NEET-UG 2021.

She said that her teachers made her believe that coaching is not everything. “Without coaching classes also, we can clear competitive exams and pursue our dreams. They made us do test series, questions papers and more that helped us score well,” says Ishika.

In a rare feat, nearly 500 government school students from Delhi have qualified the national-level medical entrance examination this year. Students of Delhi government schools outshone in NEET-UG 2021 Results.

According to the official data shared by the state government, a total of 496 students of Delhi government schools have qualified for the medical entrance exam NEET this year.

Shiksha spoke with the Principal of Delhi Government School Paschim Vihar and some of its students to know more about their academic strategy, assistance, challenges faced and more.

Last year, 21 out of 35 students qualified NEET-UG and this year the number has gone up to 25 for Delhi Government School Paschim Vihar. Talking about the effort consistently improving the performance of the students and the efforts that teachers contribute, the principal of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Paschim Vihar, Prity Saxena said, “Despite COVID-19 pandemic, our students have performed so well. We try and create a competitive environment in school to keep the students motivated towards their goals. When our teachers are teaching, they take a step further. Using the last year papers, our teachers help students prepare for important topics and resolve their doubts whenever needed.”

Consistent hard work and sincerity is the key to everything, says Prity Saxena, Principal, RPVV Paschim Vihar.

Lauding the Delhi government’s decision to provide tablets to Class 11 and 12, Saxena stated that students and teachers did not face any connectivity issues during the lockdown. The virtual classes went smoothly and effortlessly. Students were learning through assignments, tests via Google forms, and more, she said.

Stating that schools start making efforts in junior classes itself to help students choose the path of their interest, Saxena said, “From junior classes itself, subjects such as English, Hindi and Mathematics has to be perfect. We give stress on the languages as well and when the child is able to comprehend, then we expose them to various streams to make a choice. We make students appear for NMMS (National Means Cum Merit Scholarship) exams, NTSE in Class 8, 9 and 10 so that they prepare for higher-level exams.” There is a club called ‘Ignited Minds’, where students shared their academic problems and get assistance from teachers. Right from Class 9 onwards students are given reference books, our library is also full of reference books that teachers suggest to students, she added.

The principal further shared that the school receives library funds from the government using which they make reference books and competitive exam magazines available for students. Counseling sessions are conducted for students, extra efforts are made to help students become independent problem solvers.

The school also makes efforts to bring previously selected students to interact with the aspirants and guide them. The stories of our alumni inspire students, they get a chance to learn from the challenges faced by the qualified students, the principal said.

‘A government school student can also dream and aspire because all that matter is talent, hard work, capability and dedication’

Shubham Bhardwaj is another student from RPVV who has cleared NEET UG 2021 and looks forward to pursue his career in the medical field. Talking about the change in NEET-UG 2021 exam pattern that took place just two months before the NEET 2021 exam date, Shubham recalled that it was his teachers who made the students aware of the change. He further added that the teachers guided us to crack the new exam pattern.

Shubham says that his teachers played an important role in his success. “They helped us academically and they encouraged us when we felt low and depressed. They always inspired us and assisted us with study material, concepts, their experience, knowledge,” he said. Recalling the time when NEET-UG 2021 was getting postponed and there were rumors that the exam will get canceled, Shubham said, “Teachers encouraged us and told us one thing that if NEET gets cancelled it will not be cancelled forever. The exam will take place at some point of time. So, instead of focusing on rumors or getting disheartened over its postponement, we all must utilize this time to study hard and prepare more for our goal.”

He further added, even the students of government schools and students coming from not a financially sound background have dreams and aspirations. It does not matter if you belong to a government school or private school or some other highly reputed educational institution, all that matters is your capability, talent, dedication and hard work. In a government school also you can have exposure, knowledge and assistance with the help of which you can crack any exam you want to.

'Our teachers encouraged us and prepared us for the best.'

Another student who has qualified for NEET-UG 2021 from the Delhi government school is Naresh Singh Raghav. With an overall score of 635, Naresh look forward to pursue his dream in the field of medicine. Talking about his journey and preparation, Naresh has given credit to his teachers and mentors. He said that the continuous assistance that he has received from his teachers is the result of his success. He further added, “Our teachers used to encourage us and prepare us for the best. Despite continuous postponements, our teachers never let us feel demotivated. They made us utilize that time to study and we got the results of our hard work.” During lockdown also our teachers shared assignments, question papers and strategies to solve papers. They taught us time management that we used while appearing for NEET-UG with changed exam pattern.

Over 8.70 lakh candidates qualified for NEET 2021 which were conducted at 3,858 centres in 13 languages. The NEET-UG exam was held on September 12, 2021, with over 95 per cent of the registered candidates appearing for the medical entrance exam.

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