SEVERAL NEET aspirants preparing to reappear for the medical entrance examination say, they are facing heightened anxiety, disrupted routines, loss of confidence and growing distrust in the examination system following the cancellation of the earlier test. Students who had spent months and, in some cases, years preparing for the exam said the cancellation came as a shock and forced them back into an intense preparation cycle. Ridhima Bansal, who appeared for both the Class 12 board examinations and NEET this year, said the cancellation of the entrance test has left her emotionally drained and she is struggling to resume her studies. “I was expecting a good score that would have helped me secure a seat in a medical college. I came out of the NEET exam feeling happy and confident that I would get into a medical college. Then suddenly, the news came that the exam has been cancelled,” Bansal told PTI. “When I reopened my books, I was not feeling like studying,” she said, adding that the uncertainty has also affected her daily routine and mental well-being. “I don’t trust the system now,” she added. Another aspirant, Vaibhavi (17) said she was on a family vacation when she learnt that the examination had been cancelled and would be conducted again. “I was disheartened about the exam being cancelled. I was on a family vacation when I got the notification that the exam is being cancelled and they are going to re-conduct the exam. So I panicked thinking what is going to happen now,” she said. Vaibhavi said the controversy affected her concentration and motivation.

 

“I don’t feel like studying anymore. It’s like more of a joke. You should read as much as you want, but it’s not going to be good enough,” she said. “I would zone out while studying and keep thinking about what would happen now. I would completely zone out and not acknowledge anything around me,” she added. Vaibhavi also expressed concerns about the upcoming examination. Madhuri Sudhir Shelar, who had prepared for NEET for two years, said she was devastated when she learnt that the examination had been cancelled. “It hurt a lot because I had been preparing for two years. After studying so hard for so long, hearing this news was extremely painful. It felt very bad,” she said. Shelar said she had walked out of the examination centre believing her hard work had paid off. “The paper was easy. Biology was especially easy. When I came out of the examination centre, I felt really happy. I thought, ‘This time I’ll make it’,” she said. However, the events that followed left her demoralised. She said her confidence has dropped sharply since then. “My confidence has definitely dropped. I don’t feel like studying at all. Everything feels very different. But I’m still studying because my future depends on it. I’m motivating myself, telling myself that I have goals to achieve and a future to build. That’s the only reason I’m continuing,” she said. Psychologist Bhavna Barmi advised aspirants to focus on what remains within their control.