Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
50-year-old Vikas Mangotra and his daughter Meemansa both aced NEET UG 2024. Vikas took on the challenge of inspire and support his daughter, highlighting an extraordinary father-daughter bond.
Clearing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for graduate medical courses (NEET-UG) is no easy task. However, a father-daughter duo successfully cleared the medical examination. Fifty-year-old Vikas Mangotra and his 18-year-old daughter, Meemansa, both passed the highly competitive NEET UG 2024. Vikas, a corporate employee from Delhi originally from Jammu, took the exam to support his daughter. He wanted to help her prepare effectively and enhance his teaching skills.
Vikas first qualified for NEET in 2022 to test his abilities and understand the exam better. He had previously appeared for the state PMT in the early 90s and scored enough to secure a spot in medical college but had to pursue engineering due to personal issues. Over the years, he tackled various competitive exams, including GATE, JKCET, and UPSC CSE, demonstrating his commitment to education, as per the information provided by several media reports.
For his second NEET attempt in 2024, Vikas studied 15–16 hours a day after taking leave from work, driven by the goal of motivating and supporting his daughter. Meemansa, who took a drop in the year to improve her NEET score, greatly benefited from his guidance
Vikas realised the challenges students face while preparing for such exams and decided to help her with the syllabus himself.
Despite his initial apprehensions about his age, Vikas found inspiration in stories like that of a 60-year-old man from Odisha who qualified for NEET in 2021. Reflecting on the examination, he noted that this year’s test was comparatively straightforward, unlike his 2022 attempt, which felt tricky.
Vikas also expressed concerns about the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) policy on grace marks, feeling disheartened by it. He believed that such a policy was unprecedented in competitive exams and urged the NTA to take responsibility for its actions
