SALEM: Overcoming the challenges of growing up in a remote tribal hill village with limited access to educational resources, E Nivetha from Gundur in the Yercaud Hills cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), becoming the first student from her area to achieve the feat.
Nivetha secured 245 marks out of 720 in her first attempt. She is the first student from Gundur and the surrounding 18 tribal hill villages to qualify in the national-level medical entrance examination.
Nivetha is the daughter of Ezhumalai, a daily wage worker, and Manimegalai, a homemaker and completed her schooling up to Class X at a government school before pursuing her higher secondary education at the Government-aided Nazareth Girls' Higher Secondary School. She scored 496 marks in the Class XII board examinations.
Speaking to TNIE, Nivetha said preparing for NEET was not easy as her village, located about 6 km from Yercaud, lacked stable internet connectivity. "Accessing online study material was difficult as there was no reliable internet connection in the village. I often had to travel outside the village to use the internet. Bus services to our village were also introduced only recently," she said.
After completing Class XII in 2025, she received guidance and NEET coaching from a local non-governmental organisation working in the hill region. She travelled daily between Yercaud and Salem to attend coaching classes while preparing for the examination.
"I studied in government schools throughout my schooling. The guidance provided by the NGO after Class XII helped me prepare for NEET. I scored 245 marks in my first attempt and have now applied for MBBS and BDS courses," she said.