From Daily Labourer To Would-Be Doctor: Check How Kashmir Boy Umer Ahmed Ganie Cracked NEET Exam

The 19-year-old revealed that he first became motivated to crack the NEET exam when he was in Class 10 and heard that a boy from Pulwama district had cleared the entrance test and became a doctor.

New Delhi: In a little-known village, Zagi Gam, resting in the picturesque hills of southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district, 19-year-old Umer Ahmed Ganie worked as a daily-wage labourer during the day to support his family and at then spent countless sleepless nights immersed in his textbooks, preparing for the NEET UG 2023 while dreaming of becoming a doctor one day.

In an interview with the Indian Express (IE), Umer revealed that he used to work as a labourer during the day and studied from 4 PM to 12 PM, before taking a two-hour nap and resuming his studies from 3 AM to 8 AM in the morning. All in the pursuit to achieve his dream of clearing the NEET exam and becoming a doctor.

“My family is not very financially sound so I had to support them by working as a labourer and attend school as well so I could achieve my dream. My father was over 50 when I was in class 9 and as such, I had to find whatever work I could get to support my family,” Umer says.

Determined to the core

The 19-year-old revealed that he first became motivated to crack the NEET exam when he was in Class 10 and heard that a boy from Pulwama district had cleared the entrance test and became a doctor. “I was motivated by his story to prepare for clearing NEET and I picked the Science stream in Class 11.”

Umer’s family could barely make ends meet so private tuitions were out of the picture. However, the determined teenager remained undeterred and focussed on self-study, relying on NCERT books and painted houses to raise money for buying relevant study material and also make a living for his family.

Things would soon get tougher for the aspiring doctor as COVID-19 pandemic hit and the whole world was shut. But Umer remained resolute and found inspiration from the doctors from his native district and other parts of the world who were putting everything, including their lives on the line, during the global outbreak. “That motivated me to clear NEET, become a doctor and get a chance to help people in society,” IE quoted Umer saying.

The uncertain times of the lockdown period during the COVID-19 pandemic came as a blessing in disguise for Umer as it afforded him more time to prepare for clearing the NEET exam, and despite internet outages and lockdowns in the conflict-riddled district, his preparation did not take much of a hit as Umer was mostly referring to NCERT books.

Hard work trumps all

Umer’s hard work has paid off as cracked the NEET UG 2023 with 601 marks and has been named as the brand ambassador for popular coaching institute Physics Wallah’s Kashmir region.

Asked for advice for future aspirants who come from financially weak background, Umer believes that they should not worry about lack of resources and focus on working hard as that is the key to success in any endeavour.

Umer also highlights the importance of using the internet to find relevant study material for free even if one doesn’t have the money to buy the same offline. “Even if you do not have money, a lot of study material is available online. I want to tell everyone to work hard,” Umer told news agency PTI.

‘Want to stay in Kashmir and help its people’

After Umer’s feat, his older brother has now taken over the responsibility of financially supporting the family to make sure his younger sibling can fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor.

Asked about his future goals when he earns an MBBS degree and becomes a doctor, Umer says he wishes to get get admission to any government medical college in Jammu and Kashmir and insists he would like practice in his native Kashmir only.

“I love Kashmir and want to study and practice medicine in the valley only. I am accustomed to the weather, understand the people and their language and would like help the people of Kashmir in future,” Umer tells IE.