NEET Result 2023: Shepherds' daughters crack exam; credit uncle's guidance, 12-hour self-study

KOTA: Hailing from a poor family of shepherds, cousins Ritu Yadav and Kareena Yadav realised the importance of education as a ticket to a better life. Under the tutelage of their uncle -- a retired science teacher and the only literate family member -- the girls started preparing for the NEET immediately after completing their schooling.

Overcoming the odds stacked against them, Ritu Yadav (19) and Kareena Yadav (20) of Nangal Tulsidas village of Jamwa Ramgarh of Jaipur district cracked the prestigious exam in their second and fourth attempt. "I was confident of succeeding after I gave my first attempt in 2020. I focussed on improving my score rather than getting qualified for admission in a good medical college," said Kareena Yadav, who scored 680 marks and achieved an all-India rank of 1621 and category rank of 432 in the exam. "I want to become a neurologist and serve the community," she added.

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Ritu Yadav, who made her first attempt in 2022, scored 645 marks and secured an all-India rank of 8179 and a category rank of 3027. The cousins said they devoted at least 12 hours every day self-study and kept away from smartphones. Their parents too did not ask them to do any household work. "I nourished the dream of seeing my children becoming doctors after I failed to clear a medical entrance test in 1983-84. The sight of someone wearing a stethoscope would inspire me," the girls' uncle Thakarsi Yadav said. He said while the girls prepared on their own for years, he got them enrolled in coaching classes in Sikar seven months ago after sensing the need for professional guidance.

"Bade papa (uncle) not only guided and taught us, but stayed with us in the hostel in Sikar and did all routine work, including cooking, so that we could study uninterruptedly," Kareena Yadav said. Now there will be two doctors in the shepherd's family, said Thakarsi Yadav, beaming with pride and joy. Kareena Yadav's father Nanchu Ram and Ritu Yadav's father Hanuman Sahay own two bighas of land each besides a few goats which is the main source of the family's income, Thakarsi Yadav said.