Maharashtra pupils from rural parts, tier-II cities score top ranks in NEET too

PUNE/MUMBAI: In Maharashtra, approximately 25 students will be vying for one medical or dental government college seat this year. A total of 81,171 from state qualified in NEET-UG, whose results were declared on Wednesday, and there are 3,110 available seats in government and civic-run colleges.

The number of students who have qualified in the test this year has gone up 10,000 this year in the state, however, the number of seats went up by less than 100.
Sarthak Bhat (AIR 6), Sairaj Mane (AIR 34) and Siddhant Date (AIR50) from Maharashtra are among the top 50 ranks in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, the results for which were released on Wednesday by National Testing Agency.
Among the girl candidates, Disha Agrawal (AIR 52) ranked the highest in Maharashtra. Following the MHT-CET trend, all the state toppers hail from rural or semi-urban areas.
Durgesh Mangeshkar, who coaches students for these examinations, said, “Of the 2.06 lakh students who appeared from Maharashtra, barely 81,000 qualified thereby registering a success ratio of merely 39.5%. It is among the lowest in India. State like Delhi, Haryana and the others have registered 73% and above. ”
“The students per mark density is unusually high in the 600 plus marks range this year is 53-54 students per mark which is unprecedented, ” he added.
Kedar Takalkar, educationist said, "The cutoff marks for the open category will definitely increase by a minimum of 20 marks considering additional SEBC and EWS reservations and for other reservation categories by 12 marks. This is equally applicable for all colleges. Fees of all private and deemed university colleges will increase heavily. Hence, it is difficult for middle income group candidate to take MBBS admission."
Sarthak was in Mumbai for a 10-day biology Olympiad Camp when the results were announced. “I was inside a movie theatre when I started getting the calls. I had to leave the screening in the middle and come out to answer all the congratulatory calls and those from the press. I am happy,” he said.
Sarthak is a Hindustani vocalist as well as a tabla player. He is a state-level badminton player. But in the six months leading to the exam, he spent at least 10-12 hours studying for NEET, Chitrika Bhat, Sarthak’s mother, said.
Sairaj Mane hails from Sangli and is an alumnus of Satara Sainik School. “When the answer key was issued, I knew I would score well but being in the top 50 is huge. My mother is a housewife and my father owns a grocery store. I hope to get admission in GSMC, Mumbai. Most people in my family have studied only up to std X or XII. I am going to be the first doctor,” Sairaj said. He has been preparing for the past two years.
Siddhant from Junnar taluka in Pune district studied at Fergusson College. “The writing pattern of HSC is very different. In NEET we keep solving MCQs so we lose sight of how to write descriptive answers,” Siddhant said.
Disha, who scored the highest among girls in the state, said her grandfather, who is now 84, and is still a practising doctor, is her inspiration.
“I will probably pick a college within the state. I may not clear the AIIMS entrance but JIPMER is a possibility,” Disha, who is from Akola district, said.