NEET topper Kalpana studied 13 hours a day

Faryal.Rumi@timesgroup.com

Patna 05.06.2018
 
: Kalpana Kumari of Sheohar in Bihar has topped the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2018, the results of which were declared on Monday.

The exam was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on May 6 for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in colleges run with the approval of the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India.Out of 720, Kalpana scored 691, including perfect 360 in biology (botany and zoology), 171/180 in physics and 160/180 in chemistry. She secured a percentile score of 99.99 and was the only candidate from Bihar among the top 50 scorers in the country.

The 17-year-old girl wrote this year’s Class XII exam, conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), from YKJM College at Sheohar and her results are likely to be declared on June 6. She had completed her matriculation (Class X) from Navodaya Vidyalaya with a CGPA of 10 in 2016.Sharing her happiness, Kalpana told this newspaper over the phone from Delhi that it was like a dream come true. “I worked hard and studied 13 hours a day for my Class XII and NEET exams. I didn’t expect that I would be the topper. I also appeared for the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam and am waiting for the results. If I don’t qualify in that exam, I want to take admission in Maulana Azad Medical College on my NEET score,” she said.

“I have still not considered the specialty I want to pursue after my MBBS,” Kalpana said, adding, “I’m also expecting good marks in the Class XII exams.”Kalpana’s father, Rakesh Mishra (a lecturer at the District Institute of Education and Training, Sitamarhi), and mother Mamta Kumari (a teacher at Sheohar Government School), were elated. “I knew she would qualify in the exam, but she has proved her mettle by grabbing the top rank. After her Class XII exam, she had moved to Delhi to prepare for the medical exam. We both are proud of her. She will decide her career,” Mishra told this newspaper over the phone on Monday.

Kalpana’s elder sister, Bharti Kumari, has completed her engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Patna, and her elder brother, Pranay Pratap, is a BTech fourth-year student at IIT, Guwahati. 

Kalpana Kumari