NEET hurdle cleared, but poor students unable to pursue MBBS in Punjab

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 24

A girl from the Meritorious School in Bathinda, who has cleared the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) by securing 582 marks out of 700, is unable to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor because she can’t afford the fees of an MBBS course. She is a resident of Malout town in Mukstar and had lost her father. The girl’s mother, who is an anganwadi worker, earns only Rs 4,800 per month.

Another student, son of a vegetable merchant, scored 542 marks out of 700. He is from the Meritorious School in Amritsar and facing financial problems to get the admission. The mother of the student said, “We don’t have money for the MBBS course. The government should help us.” Notably, around 126 students of government meritorious schools in the state have cleared the NEET. However, many of them are from poor background and wouldn’t be able to pursue MBBS.

Japneet Kaur, a teacher at the Meritorious School in Bathinda, in her plea to Chief Minister, said, “The girl has cleared NEET without any coaching. The government should help the girl and other meritorious students who need financial help to pursue MBBS.”

Medical education in the state is seemingly out of reach of poor students. The fee in the government medical colleges is the highest in the north region. In Punjab, one has to spend around Rs 7.8 lakh to complete an MBBS course in any government medical college. Moreover, none of the government colleges in the state have featured in the first 50 top medical colleges of the country. In neighbouring Rajasthan, the entire MBBS course fee is around below Rs 3 lakh in government medical colleges while in Himachal Pradesh, it costs around Rs 1 lakh in government-run colleges. The MBBS course fee in Haryana is around Rs 3.71 lakh.

Ajoy Sharma, Secretary, School Education, said, “There is no policy for such cases, but students will not lose an MBBS seat due to financial issues at any cost. We will facilitate such cases and required help will be provided to the students.” Education Minister Pargat Singh and Medical Education Minister Raj Kumar Verka could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. 

Govt must help

The government should come out with some scheme to help poor students financially. educationist

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