Medical aspirants and invigilators at one of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) centres in Coimbatore on Sunday were surprised when an elderly man walked into the hall with his admit card.
The candidate, aged 70, was M. Prince Manickam from Vinayagapuram near Vilankurichi in Coimbatore, who completed his pre-university course in 1968.
“I wrote the examination for two reasons. First to satisfy myself as I could not take up medicine after my pre-university. I joined B.Sc. Agriculture in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Second is to instill courage and confidence among youngsters who unnecessarily fear NEET. After 12 years of education in the modern age, why should students worry about attempting an examination of three hours,” asks Mr. Manickam.
“In my opinion, NEET is not and should not be a big challenge for students from Tamil Nadu. Unwanted fear factor is created about the exam and students lose confidence in themselves. For a student who has performed well upto Class XII, NEET is not a barrier at all,” says the retired bank manager and professor.
Mr. Manickam holds a long career graph and is yet to retire from chasing his own passions. According to him, he worked in the Bank of Baroda for 21 years, held the post of Head of the Department of MBA for 15 years in colleges affiliated to Anna University and worked in a private college in Coimbatore till 2016. Apart from the B.Sc. Agriculture degree, he holds M.Phil, Ph.D. and Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) certificate. To keep himself occupied, Mr. Manickam currently runs a spoken English academy.
“I prepared for the examination for about 50 days. I do not expect a good score. My aim was to attempt the exam and allay fears among youth,” says Mr. Manickam.
