Three youths from poor families and remote villages in Malda and Cooch Behar districts have re-written their destinies by cracking this year’s National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The to-be doctors are Mohammad Rishad Sheikh of Bangitola village and Asmaul Haque of Uttar Laxmipur village in Malda, and Alobaidul Haque, who is from Patchara – a village around 22km away from Cooch Behar town.

Rishad and Asmaul of Malda have secured ranks of 3,723 and 5,523 respectively, while Alobaidul of Cooch Behar is ranked 33,822.

While Rishad is the son of a small poultry farm owner, Asmaul’s father is a daily wage worker at a carpentry unit and mother at a bidi factory. Alobaidul’s father is a farmer.

These boys have all known financial struggle at home but they did not let these constraints come in the way of their medical dream, their proud kin say.

Mohammad Helaluddin, Rishad’s father, admitted he did not have the financial wherewithal to get his son special coaching to crack the medical entrance. “But his performance in Madhyamik paved the way for him to get coaching from a private institution against a nominal cost. Now, he has proved his mettle,” the proud father said.

Asmaul Haque Soumya De Sarkar

Asmaul’s father Nijamuddin recounted how he and his wife Kabira Bibi lost their home to river erosion and had to shift their family to another village.

Those were hard times but his son stayed glued to his textbooks, the father recalled. “It took us time to build a hutment in the new place. But despite the tension and the financial constraints, our son was always focussed on his studies and could finally succeed in his aim. It will be our dream come true the day he becomes a doctor,” said Nijamuddin.

But Asmaul is a worried youngster. This was not the first time that he cleared NEET. Last year, he had managed to secure a rank that gave him the chance to enroll at a dental college in Calcutta.

“This year, my rank is much better and I hope to get admission in Calcutta Medical College & Hopsital or in NRS Medical College & Hospital,” the youngster said. “But I have to pay Rs 1.10 lakh to the dental college to get my release so that I can enroll for the MBBS course. I am exploring options to arrange the money.”

Alobaidul Haque Soumya De Sarkar

Alobaidul’s father Ajijul Islam has two reasons to be proud.

Alobaidul, his son, has made him proud by clearing NEET and intends to be a dental surgeon in future.

Along with Alobaidul, his sister Afruja Parveen surprised everyone by securing 94 per cent marks in her higher secondary exams this year and cleared the entrance test for the nursing course.

But the farmer is not free of worries. He just hopes his son gets a berth in a government college so that his studies are affordable.

Afruja Parveen Soumya De Sarkar

“My son did not have the option to take coaching from any private institution as I do not have the financial capacity to bear those expenses. He prepared for the exams on his own. It is nice to see that my son cleared the first step to be a doctor. We hope he will find a berth in a government college,” Ajijul said.

Alobaidul’s sister Afruja said she was fortunate that she would be able to take admission in a government-run nursing college. “My father cannot bear the expenses of a private institution,” she said, adding she was very happy for her brother’s success in NEET.