Even after her marriage, Rupa Yadav, she continued her education, undertook coaching at a Kota-based institute and cleared the test in her third attempt. Even after her marriage, Rupa Yadav, she continued her education, undertook coaching at a Kota-based institute and cleared the test in her third attempt.

A 20-year old girl, who was married off when she was just eight, is set to become a doctor after clearing the CBSE’s undergraduate National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) for medical education. Even after her marriage Rupa Yadav continued her education, undertook coaching at a Kota-based institute and cleared the test in her third attempt.

Rupa scored 603 in the NEET and is currently attending counselling for admission. She hopes to make it to a government-run medical college.

Youngest among five siblings, Rupa was in Class III when she was married off along with her elder sister Rukma.

Her husband Shankar Lal, who was just 12 at the time of marriage, and her in-laws, particularly brother-in-law Babulal, supported her in pursuing her dream, she said.

“I scored 84 per cent in my Class X examinations. Everyone, including our neighbours and relatives, told my in-laws to let me continue my education and they agreed. I am very thankful for their support,” she said.

For her intermediate education, Rupa enrolled at a private school located 6 km away from her village — at Kareri in Chomu near Jaipur — and went on to score 81 per cent and 84 per cent marks in her Class XI and Class XII examinations, respectively.

Rupa said that she decided to become a doctor when her uncle Bhimaram Yadav died of cardiac arrest due to lack of medical assistance. In her first attempt at the AIPMT, she scored 415 marks and was ranked 23,000. In her last attempt at NEET, a year-long coaching helped her improve her score to 503.

While Rupa wanted to continue her preparations at Kota, her family’s financial troubles were emerging as a roadblock. While a private institute, Allen coaching, waived 75 per cent of her fees, paying the remaining fee and staying at Kota were still a challenge.

“My in-laws, like my parents, are farmers. The income from farming is meagre. So, my husband started plying a cargo taxi to sponsor my education,” said Rupa.

The Allen coaching institute has now decided to provide her with a monthly scholarship to help her complete the four-year MBBS course, she said.

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