On Sunday, July 17, K Rajyakkodi, a 55-year-old farmer from the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, showed up to attempt the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) at the Velammal Vidyalaya Center. On the day of the exam, when Rajyakkodi waited in line, security personnel barred him from entering the building since he was over-aged. The other applicants and their parents’ reactions when he presented them the hall ticket were full of shock and bewilderment. The 55-year-old said the physics and chemistry questions were simple, and he anticipates getting around 460 points. If he is offered a spot in any government medical college, he intends to pursue his ambition of becoming a doctor.
Rajyakkodi, a resident of Ambattaiyanpatti village, qualified for the tests and applied for admission to a private medical college in 1984, but he was unable to enrol in the programme due to financial constraints. He decided to leave the Pasumpon Thevar Arts and Science College in Usilampatti town’s BSc Physics programme in the future due to the family’s financial struggles.
Even decades later, Rajyakkodi was still motivated to pursue his dreams after learning that a 64-year-old man from Odisha had recently been accepted into a medical institution, despite several obstacles and disappointments. This drive provided him the determination to put in at least three hours a day of hard effort to reach his objective.
His younger son R Vasudevan, who scored 521 points in his NEET second try and was offered a spot in the MBBS programme at the Government Medical College in Cuddalore, is his another source of encouragement. Rajyakkodi studied for the exam during the course of the previous year using his son’s study materials, and he took a number of practise exams to boost his confidence.