The unfortunate incident of a double suicide at Tamil Nadu and a politicians strange dialogues is the reason behind my blog post today.
A meritorious young boy failed to clear NEET twice and took his own life .His father followed the same path .
The news is very sad. Becoming a doctor is a very noble dream but being able to fight adversities is what we must teach our kids .The politicians want to destroy both education, and health at grassroot levels.So nobody is talking about improving quality of education or health access from the grassroots.Its all about rhetoric.
Giving up one’s life is an extreme decision and is a mental health problem which is deep rooted.We need to get help sooner because there are always red flags .The system is getting more toxic unfortunately.
Plus no body is willing to listen to doctors when it comes to tests, rules ,regulations in medical education and healthcare.With private medical colleges having MBBS costing 1.4 crore at the highest it’s an impossible situation.
Simple explanation for a crazy bottleneck:Cost of medical education is very high in private setup (few can afford),but overall the government everywhere is pushing for low cost Healthcare and universal access .The cost price of medical education is now way higher than the return.If life is the price ,then medical education fails even before we get started elsewhere.
The study of becoming a doctor is to help people live a better life .Quality of life being crucial.If the system doesn’t correct itself ,then students will no longer aspire to be a doctor because it’s spoiling the quality of life right from starting to compete for a seat.
Ayone who goes and sits in the commissions etc forget what it was like starting out .The best we can do is reach out to aspiring candidates whenever we get a chance and tell them it’s okay.
I know a few people who gave the WBJEE twice didn’t clear it ,went on to study different subjects,did brilliantly well, now earning well and happy too.Atleast as happy as we can be adulting.
What could be a sensible approach
1.One education board nationally, with compulsory vernacular language ,+/-Hindi and +/-English.Learning languages is an excellent way to keep our brain flexible .So no fighting about languages. It has helped me tremendously knowing Bengali,Hindi and English.Communication skill is much needed as a professional and languages are important for that purpose. It also opens up the world of learning like nothing else can.
2.An option to use the class 12 board scores or a seperate entrance exam(this should be a choice) for securing a seat in a college or professional course through an open online central counseling option .
Another option is to give 50% credit to board exams and 50% to the professional medical entrance exam.
3.Proper career counseling of students and guardians from eight standards.Sometimes students are not aware of their strengths abd weaknesses ,a good career counsellor can help.But again that itself is a grey zone ,if you know what I mean.
4.Making the quality of education and schools /colleges universities all over the country at par (the crux of the problem).
This means Education which is a state subject,will need to have a central advisory body as a whole,both for quality control and ensuring adequate(qualified and quality) teaching staff who are passionate teachers.
5.Internship for all students from standard 8 for a few hours every day during summer holidays or winter break at work places they find interesting as a future career to see how things work,the stresses ,the challenges ,the fun ,the pay and how to mange the upside and downs.
Dreaming of becoming a doctor is the best way to start turning your thoughts into action.But both your Mental health and physical health is crucial .Don’t lose your health to make others healthy.There are no rewards and awards and “doctor must heal thyself first”. Believe me when I say this “no one will teach you to be happy ,unless you make it a priority”.
I hope and pray that the young man and his father and all those we have forgotten, who decided to stop living with us in this world find peace in the life after.
Om Shanti
P.S This is an opinion post written because its heartbreaking to see so many bright young people do the unthinkable because they couldn’t become doctors.Some dreams need to be given up if they prevent you from living.Its really okay.