Kerala elections: Behind The Scenes.

The comrades have pulled off a huge win in Kerala. Despite their claim of the leftist wave, the natural hatred we feel against the ones in power, and the BJP effect did most of the work. The slightly ‘non secular’ appearance of the NDA might have made the minorities vote for the LDF who had the greater chance of winning. The keralites did not cast their vote. They voted their caste. Let us hope our people grow out of their shell and starts voting for a better Kerala.

Why not NEET? Its true all of us were taken by surprise and that we did not get time for preparation. But then again, we did prepare for AIPMT. And it was the same question paper which everyone writes! One set thinks it is not fair that the candidates writing phase 2 have more time. Here, we have to understand that these are the students who never even applied for AIPMT. The truth is, they were never even part of the game. It is true that two months of preparation gives them a better chance, but I am confident that the second paper will be tougher, and there will be moderations. Almost everyone who does KEAM well gets a good rank in AIPMT also. When NEET is a reality we will have chance at seats we could not get our hands on before. A lot of students will be able to reach their goal. The malpractices that exist now in this area will be eradicated.  We are all aspiring doctors. Doctors ought to care more for other people and should be able to function efficiently under stress. This is our chance to show everyone that we really have what it takes.

I had an OK KEAM. Even though I thought it would be great, and in some places I even had an angel to tell me the answers I did not know, the score was not as great as I thought. It was good enough to get me a good seat, but not good enough to impress all the people who expected so much from me. Even if I don’t get the best seat in NEET, I would happily take what I get because I know that whoever scored better than me can be better doctors than me. But this doesn’t apply for KEAM.

 This was never about one person. The quality of medical education across the country will improve. KEAM is a slightly modified memory test in which problems are to see if the candidate knows the equations. A guy can solve thermodynamics problems in KEAM even if he doesn’t know what gasoline does in an internal combustion engine. But AIPMT( and therefore NEET) tests the candidate’s concept, reasoning and thinking skills. It’s not about memorizing meaningless sentences from the NCERT. It’s about knowing what all of it is about. A doctor is not someone who knows a lot of medical texts by heart. Doctors are people who prescribe medicines of which they know little, for diseases of which they know less to people about whom they nothing. Doctors have to be skilled in applying the knowledge and coming up with solutions. It is those solutions which may save lives in the future.

We need a system to select candidates eligible to become doctors who can save lives rather than white coated nerds who can recite textbooks. A system which doesn’t let private universities with world class facilities give out their top 100 ranks to any idiot who can afford the capitation. And NEET is that solution. #prayforneet