NEET 2020 | Topper Akanksha Singh hopes to become neurosurgery researcher

This year NEET exam was conducted on September 13 amidst strict precautions in view of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 15.97 lakh students had registered for the entrance test. A total of 7,71,500 students had qualified for the test.

In a first, two candidates have scored full marks in medical entrance exam NEET. In the results which were declared on Friday night, Soyeb Aftab and Akanksha Singh have secured 720 out of 720 marks.

Earlier a controversy has erupted over the issue of National Testing Agency (NTA), the premier agency that conducts entrance examinations for higher educational institutions. NTA awarding 1st rank to a candidate from Odisha Shoyeb Aftab with 720 Marks and downranking another girl from Delhi, Akanksha Singh also with 720 marks to the 2nd position despite both of them securing a perfect score in the result of 2020 NEET examination.

Akanksha Singh said that earlier, she wanted to be an IAS officer, but from Class 9 onwards she wanted to be a doctor only.

It’s been a long journey from a village school in Abhinayakpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district to the top of the NEET rankings for Akanksha Singh. The girl from rural Purvanchal has become one of only two students to score a historic perfect 100% in the medical entrance examination. “I studied in my own hometown till Class 10, but after that I came to Delhi with my father. He stayed with me in a hostel so that I could study Class 11 and 12 there and achieve my dream of becoming a doctor,” said Akanksa Singh.

Also read: NEET 2020 | Two score perfect 100; over 57% qualify from T.N.

“Earlier, I wanted to be an IAS officer, but from Class 9 onwards, I wanted to be a doctor only. I liked that medicine is a job where you can interact with people. My dream was to make it to AIIMS,” she said. She hopes to specialise in neurosurgery research someday. “I hope that my research will benefit people not only from my village, but all over India,” she added.

Akanksha’s father is a retired sergeant with the Indian Air Force, while her mother is a primary school teacher. She credits her parents as her inspiration, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Also read: NEET 2020 | Topper Soyeb Aftab says he never expected to bag the first rank

IAF congratulates Akanksha Singh for securing second rank in NEET 2020

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday congratulated Akanksha Singh, who is the daughter of Retired sergeant Rajendra Kumar Rao, for bagging the second rank in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) across the country.

“Congratulations Akanksha Singh, daughter of IAF veteran Sergeant Rajendra Kumar Rao (Retd), who has scored 100 per cent in NEET 2020. IAF wishes her the best for her future,” the IAF tweeted.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) had declared the NEET 2020 results on Friday.

Akanksha, who belongs from Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar, along with Odisha’s Soyeb Aftab, emerged victorious, with perfect scores of 720/720.

The national-level entrance was conducted on September 13. NEET is an entrance test for medical and allied programmes, being held by the NTA.