Thangapechi, a resident of Panamooppanpatti village in Madurai district has cracked NEET twice but is still away from a medical course due to lack of money. She is now urging the government to provide aid for her further education.
She is the eldest of four sisters. Thangapechi received her higher secondary degree from Vikramangalam Kallar High school. Following this, she applied for the NEET and cleared the medical entrance exam. Unfortunately for Thangapechi, she was unable to enrol herself at a private medical college as the expenses of studying medicine were extremely high.
In this situation, Thangapechi went to a private training class and wrote the NEET again and secured 256 marks and this time, she enrolled herself in the government allotted Mookambikai Medical College in Kanyakumari district. The government has said it will only pay tuition fees. The family has urged the Tamil Nadu government and social activists to help them, as there is no financial stability for other expenses including accommodation.
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According to Thangapechi, she is simultaneously doing farming as her family is unable to solely bear her educational expenses. “We live in Panamooppanpatti village of Madurai district. My father Sannasi has gone through hardships for us to study till schooling. We are four daughters. Right from a young age, I had the desire to become a doctor and I studied hard for it. I cracked the NEET exam as per the government guidelines. Unfortunately, I could not continue my studies last year as I secured a seat in a private medical college,” Thangapechi said.
Further, she pointed out, “It was reported that the Tamil Nadu government has been bearing the fees for government school students who pursue medicine. Then I attended the second phase of the counselling and there were only private colleges available. Coming from a very backward village, I undergo the situation of not being able to pay for other expenses. Continuing this year, I went to a private training class and passed the NEET exam. In medical counselling, I secured a seat at Kanyakumari Mookambikai Medical College. The government bear only the tuition fee. But I have no idea what to do for other expenses.”
“My parents are daily wages and they are supporting four daughters. Our income is in short supply to support the family. I work in the farm field in the morning before I go to school. During holidays I would go to a nearby field for picking jasmine to earn a daily wage. That is where I bought notebooks. Meanwhile, the books currently required for medical studies are likely to be more expensive. We are thus stunned at not being able to afford them. I urge the state government and social activists to consider and accept other expenses,” she said.
Subsequently, Thangapechi claimed that she had passed NEET and secured a medical seat with a reservation of 7.5 per cent and that the percentage of the reservation should be increased to benefit rural students like her.
When Sannasi, father of Thangapechi said, “Usilampatti taluk is the most backward in Madurai district. It is the place where female infanticide has taken place the most in the past. Even so, I kept educating my four daughters without lending my ears to what the people of the town say. I have been doing all that I can do to support my daughters. That’s why my daughter had come out with flying colours. It gives happiness on the one hand and anxiety on the other. I cannot pay such a huge amount as a day labourer. I have done my best to help bring out gender equality in the community. My daughter is waiting to serve as a doctor. But the critical financial situation is blocking us”.
Meanwhile, many political leaders from Tamil Nadu have come forward to extend help for Thangapechi. In August 2021, a new law was enacted in the Tamil Nadu state assembly reserving 7.5 per cent seats to government school students in professional degree courses, as the government students competing with private students are struggling to get the higher education of their choice. The streams covered engineering, veterinary, agriculture, law and other professional degree courses offered in government, government-aided and private colleges in Tamil Nadu.
In 2020, the previous AIADMK regime had similarly introduced a 7.5 per cent reservation for government school students in UG medical admissions on the grounds that the students from disadvantaged backgrounds were finding it hard to score high marks in NEET. Reportedly, due to the 7.5 per cent quota in medical admissions, over 400 students of government schools were able to join MBBS in the year 2020.
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