TIRUCHY: Of the 17 in the district who cleared the NEET and secured admission to medical courses through the 7.5% horizontal reservation for government school students this year, two are alumna of the government higher secondary school in Sirugambur. 18-year-olds P Hemalatha and D Maheswari, who both cracked the entrance test for medical education in their second attempt, attribute their success to their school which allowed them liberal access to its hi-tech lab for all their self-learning online.
Hemalatha who secured a score of 263 in the NEET in her second attempt has secured admission in Tagore Dental College and Hospital in Chennai. Her parents, however, were not able to send her for coaching classes for two reasons: the fee demanded by institutions was high, and all such coaching centres were in the city. This would have would meant more than an hour’s travel everytime to take lessons, Hemalatha pointed out.
Mentioning all her training as from the hi-tech lab that the school arranged for students to prepare for the NEET, Hemalatha said, “It was extremely helpful as we did not have any big books or copious notes from a coaching class to refer to. We had to resort to online material and YouTube videos.” The lab was opened in the school four years ago. "I referred the books that the teachers provided with and also the State syllabus material helped," she added.
Hemalatha secured 145 in her first attempt at NEET, and points to all the pressure from a maiden attempt as reason for the score. Maheswari, who secured admission in the Government Namakkal Medical College after a score of 312 in the NEET, also credits the hi-tech lab in her school for her success. Her father T Dhanapal, a farmer, expressed surprise at her feat despite her having devoted much time to help him in the field.
When she failed to secure admission with her first attempt score of 189, Maheswari said it was her father and teachers who motivated her to concentrate on further preparation. R Vetrisezhiyan, a chemistry teacher at their school pointed out that the girls scored more than 85% in their Class 12 board exams.
He also marvelled at their feat in the NEET despite the limited time they were left with after household chores and helping their parents at work. The girls’ parents are, however, concerned of the language barrier their children could encounter when they shift from years of learning in Tamil medium.
"The district administration should arrange for counselling for those students from government schools who secure a college admission in order to make them overcome their fears and show ways to improve themselves," one of the parents said.