From Daily Laborer To Aspiring Doctor: Watch Kashmir Boy Umer Ahmed Ganie Crack The NEET Exam
The 19-year-old revealed that he first became motivated to pass the NEET exam when he was in class 10 and learned that a boy from Pulwama district had passed the entrance test and become a doctor.
New Delhi: In a little-known village, Zagi Gam, resting in the picturesque hills of Pulwama district of southern Kashmir, 19-year-old Umer Ahmed Ganie worked as a day laborer during the day to support his family and spent countless sleepless nights afterwards. immersed in his textbooks, preparing for the NEET UG 2023 while dreaming of becoming a doctor one day.
In an interview with the Indian Express (IE), Umer revealed that he worked as a laborer during the day and studied from 4 pm to 12 am before taking a two-hour nap and resuming his studies from 3 am to 8 am. in the morning. All in the pursuit of fulfilling his dream of completing the NEET exam and becoming a doctor.
“My family is not very healthy financially, so I had to support them by working as a laborer and also going to school so that I could achieve my dream. My father was over 50 when I was in 9th grade, so I had to find whatever work I could get to support my family,” says Umer.
Determined to the core
The 19-year-old revealed that he first became motivated to pass the NEET exam when he was in class 10 and learned that a boy from Pulwama district had passed the entrance test and become a doctor. “I was motivated by his story to prepare for the NEET exam and I chose the science stream in class 11.”
Umer’s family was barely able to make ends meet, so private lessons were out of the picture. However, the determined teen remained undeterred and focused on self-education, relying on NCERT books and painted houses to raise money to buy relevant study materials and also earn a living for his family.
Things would soon become more difficult for the aspiring doctor as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the entire world went into lockdown. But Umer remained determined, drawing inspiration from the doctors in his native region and other parts of the world who put everything, including their lives, on the line during the global outbreak. “That motivated me to scrap NEET, become a doctor and get the chance to help people in society,” IE quoted Umer.
The uncertain times of the lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic were a blessing in disguise for Umer as it gave him more time to prepare for the NEET exam. Despite internet outages and lockdowns in the conflict-ridden district, his preparation was not met with much success as Umer mostly referred to NCERT books.
Hard work trumps everything
Umer’s hard work paid off as he cracked the NEET UG 2023 with 601 points and was named as the brand ambassador for the popular coaching institute Physics Wallah’s Kashmir region.
When asked for advice for prospective aspirants from financially weak backgrounds, Umer believes that they should not worry about lack of resources and focus on hard work as that is the key to success in any venture.
Umer also emphasizes the importance of using the internet to find relevant study materials for free, even if one does not have the money to buy the same offline. “Even if you don’t have any money, there is a lot of study material available online. I want to tell everyone to work hard,” Umer told PTI news agency.
‘Want to stay in Kashmir and help its people’
After Umer’s achievement, his elder brother has now taken over the responsibility of supporting the family financially to ensure that his younger sibling can fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor.
Asked about his future goals if he completes an MBBS degree and becomes a doctor, Umer says he wants to get into a government medical college in Jammu and Kashmir and insists he only wants to practice in his native Kashmir.
“I love Kashmir and only want to study and practice medicine in the valley. I am used to the weather, understand the people and their language and would like to help the people of Kashmir in the future,” Umer told IE.