An inspiring story has emerged from Kiheri, a small village in Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh. Priyanka, a daughter of this village, has cleared the NEET exam and is now on her way to becoming the village's first doctor, and she has done it despite her family's fragile financial condition, with her mother running the household on just Rs 6,000 a month.
A big achievement for a daughter of Kiheri village
Priyanka lives in Kiheri village, located about 8 kilometres from Theog. She recently appeared for the NEET exam and scored 533 marks in it. Her All India Rank in the SC category came to 1608. With this achievement, Priyanka has become the first daughter of her village to set out on the path to becoming a doctor.
From school topper to the medical stream
Priyanka completed her class 10 studies at the very government school in Kiheri where her mother works, and later took admission at the Girls School in Theog. In Biology, she scored a perfect 100 out of 100 in her class 12 exams and topped the medical stream at Theog school. This was her first attempt at the current NEET exam, but she had also cleared an earlier NEET exam that was later leaked, scoring 612 marks in that attempt, a score even better than her current one.
No father, raised on her mother's strength
Priyanka's father, Sanjeev, passed away around five years ago. Since then, the responsibility of running the household has rested on her mother Rekha's shoulders. Rekha works as a Multi Task Worker at the government school in Kiheri under Theog and earns Rs 6,000 a month from this job. Priyanka has two elder brothers. Raising and educating three children on such a modest income was never easy, but her mother did not give up.
Two teachers who changed her fortune
Behind Priyanka's success, along with her mother, lies the significant contribution of two teachers. The school's headmaster, Ramesh Negi, and lecturer, Prakash Sharma, made sure financial hardship never stood in the way of her studies. Prakash Sharma says Priyanka was extremely sharp academically, but her family's financial condition was not good. He and headmaster Negi then approached a private coaching institute in Shimla called Aspire, which agreed to give her free coaching. Negi and Sharma also personally bore around Rs 9,000 in expenses for Priyanka's hostel stay. Speaking to the media in Shimla, Priyanka said, "If these teachers hadn't been there, I would not have reached this stage today."
A year lost to lack of information
Prakash Sharma currently teaches Biology at Lalpani School in Shimla, but until last year he was posted at Theog school, where Priyanka studied. He says that last year, Priyanka could not appear for NEET simply because she lacked information about it. Once the teachers found out, they spoke with her about dropping a year and preparing through coaching instead. Following this, the Aspire coaching institute in Shimla agreed to provide free coaching and also waived one month's hostel fee. Sharma adds that the family had initially wanted her to pursue a BSc, since they did not have the information or resources to guide her toward becoming a doctor.
Arrangements made for the road ahead too
Priyanka has cleared NEET, but when asked about the fees for her upcoming MBBS studies, Prakash Sharma says that has also been arranged. He runs a group called Udaan, which has many members. Within this group, some members take on the responsibility of fees, others cover hostel costs, and the rest contribute in smaller ways. It is this collective support that has opened the path for Priyanka's further studies.
Tears of joy in her mother's eyes
Speaking to the media in Shimla, Priyanka's mother Rekha said she has three children and all of them are intelligent and listen to her. Rekha appeared visibly emotional watching her daughter's success. For a mother earning a modest salary at a government school, watching her daughter reach the threshold of becoming a doctor feels like a dream come true.
