Special preparation helped TN toppers

G M Mukesh Kanna, the Coimbatore boy who topped the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for ungergraduate courses or NEET-UG in Tamil Nadu, had actually completed Class XII in 2015 and joined BE in

CHENNAI: G M Mukesh Kanna, the Coimbatore boy who topped the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for ungergraduate courses or NEET-UG in Tamil Nadu, had actually completed Class XII in 2015 and joined BE in a top private college in Coimbatore since he was unable to secure an MBBS seat that year. In 2015, his average score was 193.5 under the previous single window system, but it was too low for him to secure an MBBS seat that year. But within a year, he dropped out of the BE course and started preparing for NEET in a private coaching centre.

“This year’s NEET was largely based on syllabus prescribed by the Medical Council of India (MCI), which was mostly on the lines of the CBSE syllabus. Dedicated preparation for a year in private coaching helped me get a good score,” said Mukesh, who had originally studied in a State-board affiliated school. His NEET score was 655 on 720.

Chennai boy K Adithya Pranav, who scored 648 and was TN’s second highest scorer. His All India Rank (AIR) was 351. He was also the State’s topper in the entrance test conducted for admission in JIPMER and AIIMS.

Commenting on the difficulty level of NEET, Pranav said, “NEET was relatively less tough compared to JIPMER and AIIMS entrance tests.” Although he undertook private coaching, he attributed his success to the CBSE syllabus he studied throughout his schooling. He, however, said there was a huge spike in total number of candidates this year from 7 lakh to 11.3 lakh, which brought his rank down.

While Mukesh and Adithya made the NEET cut, most students across the State scored average and below average marks mostly ranging from 180 to 350. This is way below the cutoff of 585-600 for admissions under the 15% All India quota.

“Most of the questions were from CBSE syllabus and only in the last minute we were informed of negative marking. If the test was difficult for CBSE students themselves, you can imagine how tough it would have been for students of the State board,” said B Lakshmi, a student from Madurai whose NEET score was 200. “There was no guidance and we were concentrating only on our board exams. In northern states, preparations for it would begin from Class IX itself,” said Vaishali, whose NEET score was 323.

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