OBC student ranks 13 in NEET, makes Bengal proud

MP | 4 Jun 2018, Kolkata: Bengali medium students from the state who appeared in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), have performed very poorly as there were several mistakes and discrepancies in the Bengali translation of the NEET question paper.

Ritwik Kumar Sahoo, who had appeared in the examination with English as the medium of language from the state, managed to secure an all India rank of 13.

Sahoo, a resident of Parbatipur under Tomluk Municipality in East Midnapore, achieved a standout performance in the examination and topped the list of candidates appearing

for the exam from the state in English.

NEET is the national level medical entrance examination, the result of which was published by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) on Monday.

Sadly, the overall performance of the Bengali medium students in the state is dismal, with 99 percent of candidates failing to get their desired results. This is allegedly because of the question paper fiasco that took place in the state.

A section of the students have alleged that there were 180 mistakes in the Bengali translation of the NEET question paper this year. A writ petition was filed at the Calcutta High Court by a medical aspirant, following which the court asked the central board to reserve a medical seat for the petitioner. The Calcutta High Court has also sought a clarification from the Centre, on how there were so many mistakes in the Bengali translation of the NEET question paper.

It is, however, a proud moment for Sahoo, who has obtained 676 marks out of a total of 720, securing a 99.99 percentile. He had appeared for both the Madhyamik and the Higher Secondary examinations from Tamluk Hamilton High School. He had got 95.85 percent marks in Madhyamik. He had opted for English as the medium of the examination.

Sahoo obtained 161 marks in Physics out of a total of 180. He received 175 out of 180 in Chemistry and 340 out of 360 in Biology.

Sahoo, an OBC category candidate, had a dream of becoming a doctor from his early childhood. His father Bidyut Kumar Sahoo, the headmaster of a school in the district, also inspired him to achieve his goal.

When contacted, Sahoo said that he had undergone extensive training sessions under the guidance of Dr A K Maity, a city based medical trainer, to help him achieve his aim. "It is an extremely proud moment for me. I owe a lot to Dr Maity, whose educational material have helped me to crack the national level medical entrance examination. I want to become a doctor so that I can serve the patients in villages," Sahoo said.