AHMEDABAD: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) flashed online on Wednesday, and Pradeep Kumar Singh realised he could finally take a step towards his dream. Despite having left studies almost three decades ago, the 52-year-old businessman from the Bodakdev area in Ahmedabad scored 607 out of 720 marks. He truly wants is to offer free coaching to poor students so that they can crack NEET and go on to become doctors. “At the age of 52, I secured 98.98percentile. I have no intention of joining a medical college, but I want to start a free NEET coaching centre for poor students,” said Pradeep Kumar Singh.
He had the full support of his son Bijin Snehansh, a third-year MBBS student. Singh had secured 71% marks in Class 12 in 1987. He got his Bachelor’s in Economics from Delhi University and completed his Master’s in Business Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.
In 2019, Snehansh appeared for NEET and secured 595 marks. “When my child began preparing for NEET, I realised that coaching institutes charged hefty fees and were out of the reach for poor aspirants,” said Singh. “My son is good in biology while I am good in physics and chemistry. We decided to teach these subjects for free. At present, we teach a couple of students, whose parents work as MNREGA workers. ” he said.
In 2021, the National Testing Agency and the National Agency and the National Medical Council removed the upper age limit NEET. “ I began studying in February for the July exam and obtained 98.98 percentile. Now I can instil confidence in my students,” said Pradeep Kumar Singh.
