'No courage for NEET re-test': Student dies by suicide
What's the story
A National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant, Akanksha Chaturvedi, died by suicide in Nagpur on May 20 after allegedly falling into depression following the cancellation of the medical entrance examination. She was found hanging in her room. She was among the lakhs of students who had appeared for the NEET-UG exams conducted on May 3. The National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled the exam on May 12 after a paper leak and announced a re-test on June 21.
Note
'There is no guarantee I will perform well again'
Her family found a handwritten note after her death, which revealed her fears. "Mom and Dad, you had faith that your daughter would study hard and become a doctor, but I no longer have the courage to take the NEET exam again," she wrote in the note. "I was scoring good marks in my first attempt, but now there is no guarantee that I will perform well again. I am sorry, Mom and Dad. I have ruined everything."
Family struggles
Family took out loan to support her education
According to relatives, Akanksha's family had taken a loan of ₹3 lakh under the Kisan Credit Card scheme to support her education. Her father, Krishna Kumar Chaubey, is a small farmer who worked as a cook in Nagpur to meet household expenses. "My daughter...always dreamt of becoming a doctor....But the moment news broke about the...cancellation, she was shattered. My 20 years of hard work went in vain because the government failed to conduct the exam properly," he said.
Exam disruption
'She stopped eating, talking to people'
Her uncle said she had returned home very happy after the examination. "She was extremely happy after the exam and told us she expected to score more than 650 marks," he said. "But when reports about the paper leak started appearing, she went into deep shock. She stopped eating, stopped talking much and remained disturbed. We never imagined things would end this way."
Future plans
Calls for mental health support, transition to CBT
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the case and has made several arrests. The NTA has announced a re-examination for June 21 across over 5,400 centers in India. Days after the exam cancellation caused nationwide uproar, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that NEET UG will be fully computer-based from next year.