Beedi Maker's Daughter Clears NEET, Watched YouTube Videos To Prepare

The daughter of a beedi maker has cleared her National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) examination and secured an MBBS seat with the help of Youtube videos.

Hailing from a small village in Telangana's Nizamabad district, Harika faced financial difficulties growing up after having lost her father when she was just six-and-a-half-year old. But her mother's hard work and her own efforts in addition to some valuable help from YouTube videos culminated in her clearing the NEET examination.

Harika has been allotted a seat at the Siddipet Government Medical College after clearing the entrance examination. She secured a 40,958 position at the all-India level in this year's exam and her rank at the state level was 703.

"It was my childhood dream to become a Doctor. First, I appeared for NEET UG entrance examination in 2020 but my score was low for a government medical college admission. I reappeared in 2021 but still got a low score. Then, I borrowed a mobile from my cousin and started preparing by watching YouTube videos. I prepared for physics, chemistry and biology using YouTube," she said.

Harika said, "It has been very tough and challenging for my mother to manage my and my brother's studies. She took up various jobs and paid for our schooling. The school principal was kind-hearted and allowed us to study at a low fee. My dream of becoming a doctor was inspired by the principal's daughter who joined MBBS during my schooling. She arranged money for my school and university fees."

Her mother Anuradha is proud of her achievements even though she was reluctant in the beginning because of financial shortage. "My mother is paralyzed. I supported my parents, worked several small jobs and paid for my children's schooling. When my daughter expressed her wish to pursue MBBS, I was reluctant at first. But a lot of people are helping us now. I am proud that my daughter is going to be a doctor," she said.

Telangana chief minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter and Nizamabad MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla has promised to support Harika financially. Kavitha, also a former MP, met Harika and her mother and extended support towards her dreams by handing over the first instalment of her fees.

"Dare to dream and then never stop working until you achieve them. This is the story of Harika, who passed and excelled in the MBBS exams via YouTube videos. I met her and her mother and extended my support towards her dreams by handing over the first instalment of her fees," Kavitha tweeted on Wednesday, 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)