Recently, I accompanied a relative’s child to the NEET examination centre. What struck me was not just the massive turnout, but the visible tension on the faces of both parents and students. As someone who has observed academics closely, I couldn’t help but reflect on the intense social pressure surrounding NEET.
In our society, becoming a doctor has been idealised to such an extent that it seems like the only dream allowed. Many parents appear to make up their minds first, and then instil that ambition into their children regardless of what the child may actually want. This unchecked obsession has spawned a booming coaching industry, where parents, in their desperation, take out loans, sell land, and make heavy sacrifices to afford enrollment for their children.
However, many of these coaching centres, especially in Kashmir, fail to meet the standards of NEET or JEE. Despite the huge sums they charge, their quality of education is questionable. Social media plays a big role in this illusion, projecting teachers as subject matter experts and showcasing selected success stories as if they’ve produced Nobel laureates. Sadly, parents often fall for these curated narratives without asking what percentage of students actually succeed. If only 2 or 3 out of 2000 students qualify, it is not success, it is exploitation.
What is more inspiring is that many students who do qualify come from humble backgrounds and prepare through self-study. I have personally seen such cases. And yet, on the day of the exam, parents gather outside centres in massive numbers, waiting anxiously for 4-5 hours. This creates additional emotional pressure on the students.
After the exam ends, students walk out, only to be surrounded and interrogated: How was your paper?’, as if it were a test of their worth. Some students, clearly disappointed, were in tears. That pain doesn’t come from laziness, it comes from having tried their best and still feeling inadequate. Who is to blame? The coaching centres? The parents? The social system?
Ironically, these same coaching institutes start distributing pamphlets outside the examination centres, preparing for their next batch, their next round of income, without introspecting on how they failed the previous ones.
I urge every parent: before enrolling your child into these highly commercialised systems, think twice. Understand your child’s interest, aptitude, and passion. A well-guided student can succeed from home, saving your hard-earned money and their mental well-being.
Let’s stop letting emotion and social status dictate our decisions, and instead support our children in becoming what they truly want to be.
The writer is an MSc Chemistry graduate from the University of Kashmir and a former Graduate Researcher at the Crystal Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir.
Mehraj
me**********@***il.com