I always dreamt of becoming a doctor. There's no doctor in our locality. Everyone either becomes a farmer or join the army, says Amit. However, this 20-year-old was not enthusiastic as he shared his ambition with us. In fact, he was almost on the verge of breaking down because this year, as he won't be able to write the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
Amit lives in a containment zone in an interior village in Bihar. The nearest NEET centres are at least 100 kilometres away and the public transport is still not functional. "On top of this, our area was affected by the floods. My father is a farmer and does not have the means to get me a private vehicle to go to the exam centre. I am helpless now," says Amit. The Supreme Court on Monday had allowed the NTA to conduct NEET and JEE in September, amid rising COVID cases.
After completing class XII in 2018, Amit spent two years preparing for NEET. "I have been dreaming of becoming a doctor and start an NGO. I don't have an alternate option now," he says. The Supreme Court's decision has created a lot of hue and cry among the students. In a poll that Edexlive had conducted, 59.4 per cent of the respondents said that they will not write the exams, despite the court's green signal. While 22.1 per cent said they will still write the exam, 18.5 per cent are unsure of what to do. A total of 28,618 students took part in the poll.
Apart from Amit, a lot of other students too reached out to us, expressing their worry. "It’s been 5 months since I’ve stepped out of my house. I am worried about getting infected by the coronavirus or passing it to my grandparents," says another student. Another student from Assam said that his village is affected by floods and the nearest exam centre is 380 kilometres away."I have no way to go there," he says.
