Amid people taking sides and making arguments over the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Tamil Nadu, a 24-year-old police constable has managed to clear them with flying colours on his second attempt. Born in Mudugapatti village near Pennagaram in Dharmapuri district to daily wage labourers Manickam and Inbavalli, the achiever M Sivaraj had studied in a government higher secondary school. Born in a family of three siblings, from an early age, Sivaraj has been ambitious to pursue a medical course. In his Class 12 examination in 2016, he scored 915 marks out of 1200 which didn't help his cause. A dejected Sivaraj had then pursued BSc Chemistry in Karur Arts and Science College. After finishing his undergraduation, he decided to apply for Tamil Nadu Uniformed Service Recruitment Board and further cleared them. Post training, he was posted at Avadi Battalion in 2020 and has been serving as a Grade II police constable since then. In 2020, the Tamil Nadu government issued an order assuring 7.5 per cent horizontal reservation for government school students clearing NEET for admissions to undergraduate medical courses Sivaraj, who immediately joined a job post completion of his undergraduate degree due to his family circumstances, again wished to pursue his dream and decided to prepare for NEET. "I got the police job but I always wanted to be a doctor. I believed that the 7.5 percent reservation quota would help me achieve my dream," he told indianexpress.com. Sivaraj's family was not affluent and was dependent on his salary; however, the police constable who could not afford to undergo any private coaching for NEET to join medical courses nor willing to give up on his dream, decided to prepare for the exam on his own. "With the support of my friends, I started to gather books, online materials that would help me to prepare for the exam. I studied in a Tamil medium school, so I went in search of books that would help me understand the subjects better in my language," he said. He credits the 'Rajesh Neet Biology' book and the online teaching of Dr Rajesh Varatharaj which helped him prepare for the exam. In 2022, on his first attempt, Sivaraj scored 268 marks. However, he prepared again and made his second attempt in 2023 and managed to score 400 marks out of 720 and managed to secure a seat in the Government Krishnagiri Medical College. When asked how he found time to manage between working hours, he says he was focused on achieving his dream and hence did not spend time on things that were not required. "After work hours, I dedicate my time to prepare for the exams. I take pictures from the book I was preparing on my mobile phone and study them whenever possible. Also many online videos helped me to prepare for the exam. I didn't allow anything to distract me as I was focussed on my goal," Sivaraj said. He added that his younger brother, who also managed to secure a medical seat through the 7.5 per cent reservation scheme and is doing his third year at Thoothukudi Government Medical College, has been one of his major strengths in pushing him to run behind his dream. Commenting on his higher officials, Sivaraj noted that they have always been supportive and permitted him to take leaves to appear for the exams. Finally, when asked what kind of message would he like to pass on to other students especially those in rural areas and students who study in government schools and aspire to become medical professionals, Sivaraj said the students should not fear exam and if they are focused and work hard, they can definitely achieve their dream. "Do not fear any exam including NEET, continue your hard work. Our government's horizontal reservation is there to help us. It has helped me and several others. Students just need to keep practicing and those who are able can go to a coaching centre or if they are prepared to dedicate their time for one or two years, they can prepare on their own as well and can definitely clear the test," he said.
