Balotra teen who toils in factory cracks NEET, parents wash dishes

Jaipur: Shrawan Kumar, a 19-year-old in Balotra who toils in a factory while studying and whose parents wash dishes at village ceremonies to support life in a thatched two-room mud house, has cleared this year's NEET.
Shrawan was at work in his factory in Balotra town when he received word that he secured an impressive 4071 rank in OBC category. NEET results were declared Saturday. Shrawan's score is likely to earn him a seat in at least three to four govt medical colleges in Rajasthan.
With just over 55,688 MBBS seats in govt colleges nationwide — and nearly 22 lakh students competing — Shrawan's success is extraordinary. His family's only source of livelihood comes from washing utensils at weddings and ceremonies, along with occasional MGNREGA work.
Despite severe financial hardship, Shrawan remained focused on his education, completing both Class 10 and 12 from a govt school, securing 97% and 88%, respectively.
Saturday's NEET results put Shrawan's mud house amid sand dunes in Balotra's Khattoo village in the spotlight. Neighbours gathered to celebrate and social media influencers flocked to the spot, hailing the teenager and his parents.
"I am happy to see how people are clicking pictures with me and my family," said Shrawan.
The fanfare was a far cry from the days since his childhood when Shrawan helped his father Rekha Ram Kumar clean utensils at village ceremonies and rear livestock to support the family. Although a bright student throughout schooling, he never imagined pursuing anything beyond Class XII—until life changed drastically over the past three years.
Getting electricity in late 2022 and a free smartphone with three years of internet access—provided to his mother under a previous state govt scheme—completely changed his life.
"It extended my study hours and internet exposed me to the outside world," Shrawan told TOI.
Shrawan received free NEET coaching from a group of govt doctors in Barmer, who mentor underprivileged students like him. His goal is clear — to become a doctor and serve remote rural areas like his own, where healthcare is a distant luxury. "The nearest hospital is 15km away. Most doctors posted there don't understand our Marwari dialect, which makes it hard for villagers to explain what they're going through," Shrawan explained.
Asked what change he wants to see first, the teenager replies pronto: "I hate watching my father spend hours cleaning utensils and being treated poorly. Once I start earning, I'll build a pucca house and ask him to leave that job forever."
For Shrawan, who has never stepped outside Barmer and Balotra, the dream of studying medicine in a different district is thrilling and overwhelming. Shrawan's father has already decided how to meet the challenge and expenses: to sell the family's only assets — a cow and five goats.
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