4 girls among 'Super 50' youths pursuing NEET dreams

Kargil native Taslima Naaz is currently undergoing a rigorous academic coaching in Kashmir as part of the Army's prestigious Super 50 programme, and the 18-year-old says she is determined to secure admission in a good medical college for an MBBS course before going back to her hometown. She is among the four girls from Ladakh Union Territory - three from Kargil and one from Leh - who have been chosen this year after a tough screening process under the educational programme of the Army that coaches 50 youths for the competitive NEET examination.

"I always knew that I wanted to become a doctor, and pursuing that dream brought me from Kargil to Srinagar. After qualifying in the written exam, I was called for an interview and then finally selected. I got to know about the Super 50 programme through an advertisement," Naaz said. She says her father runs a shop in Kargil and mother is a housewife.

She has an elder sister and a younger brother who is in primary school. "I finished by class 12 this year from a private school. My sister is an engineer and she is my first and closest inspiration to do well in life. I will make her and my family proud," Naaz said.

In Srinagar, where the programme is being run, and interacted with some of the students, and a representative of the Kanpur-based NGO, which is a partner in this programme, along with a PSU through its corporate social responsibility-related activity. The current programme evolved out of the Super 30 initiative that began in 2018 and initially only 30 boys from Jammu and Kashmir were selected and trained for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the undergraduate-level, the representative of the NGO said.