From E-Rickshaw Driver to NEET Qualifier: UP's Mohd Suhail Becomes First in Village to Study Beyond Class 12

A 23-year-old Mohd. Suhail became one of the candidates who cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2025 exam, the results of which were released on June 14. However, his story stands out from the rest as the Muzaffarnagar resident had to drive an e-rickshaw to be able to afford his NEET fee.

Coming from a lower middle-class family in the Uttar Pradesh (UP), Suhail and his brother completed their schooling together in 2021. Since the family could not afford to send both kids to college, his elder brother started BCom degree and Suhail started driving his father’s e-rickshaw to earn some money, while his father looked for other jobs.

"I was more intelligent than my siblings since childhood, so my mother always had the dream of making me a doctor. But we didn't know the process of becoming one. We also didn't understand that I was considered 'intelligent' just because I could do rote learning and score 70 per cent. It was after class 12 when I realised how tough this road to becoming a doctor is," he told Times Now Digital.

Even though Suhail was considered to be the more intelligent child of the family, his older brother got the chance to pursue BCom, simply because he was the oldest child of the house. However, the elder sibling left the degree midway and started picking up odd daily jobs. During this year, Suhail started driving his father's e-rickshaw to earn some money. He decided to drive an e-rickshaw instead of working at some shop because the income was more in driving. He used to start driving around 8 am and return home by 5 pm.

"During the time I was driving an e-rickshaw, one of my school friends explained the concept of NEET to me, and I decided to get enrolled in a tuition class for Class 11 curriculum, since that was my weak point," he said. Suhail opted for a local tuition centre rather than the usual EdTech companies as the brands were charging approximately Rs 70,000, whereas the local tutor agreed to teach him for Rs 500 per month.

However, Suhail felt that the local tuition teacher was teaching too much in detail because of which he was unable to complete the syllabus on time. At this point he appeared for NEET 2023 but was unable to clear the exam. He then stumbled upon online classes and decided to enroll in them.

"The local tuition teacher I was working with earlier offered me an extra room where I could stay and study, since my five-member family lived in one room, and there wasn't enough space or right environment to study there," he recalled.

Since Suhail came from Hindi-medium school, he also started learning English alongside with the help of the internet. After carefully preparing for a year, Suhail again appeared for NEET 2024 and scored 369 marks. "I realised after my second attempt that the difference between preparing on my own and preparing with the help of experts is huge. This time, I had appeared for more test papers and that made all the difference in my preparation and results," he said.

With the improvement in score, Suhail's father encouraged him to keep studying without picking up day jobs. Suhail studied diligently and scored 609 marks in NEET UG 2024. "Last year's paper leak controversy negatively impacted the cut-off too, and that cost me a year. I was very disappointed and felt defeated, so I decided to not take another drop year and take admission in whatever medical course I could get with my rank. But then I got a full scholarship from PW and started studying in Meerut," he recalled.

Meanwhile, his father paid for Suhail’s living expenses by driving the e-rickshaw for long hours, and his brothers supported the family by doing odd jobs. Suhail put his heart and soul in preparing for NEET UG 2025 and is now confident that he will be able to get a admission in a good medical college.

When Suhail returned home after celebrating his result in Meerut, he saw his neighbours dancing outside his home to celebrate his achievement. The scene of the celebration got Suhail emotional as he never thought "so many people would come together to celebrate his win".

However, his celebrations were short lived as Suhail realised that all the government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh (UP) are way more expensive than what he can afford. "The top AIIMS etc are not expensive, and are affordable, but the ones in UP will cost me around Rs 1 lakh if I combine the tuition fee, cost of books/ study material, hostel fee, mess food fee and more," Suhail said.

"I don't understand why the state governments are not concentrating on this issue. People from lower middle class appear for NEET with the hope that we will be able to become a doctor. We put in all the efforts, but in the end, the affordability comes up as a huge obstacle for us. West Bengal medical colleges are cheaper than the ones in UP, but my cost of living is bound to increase there. I am stuck in a loop now," he said.

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