Helping poor patients her objective

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, June 25

Having secured 241st rank under the SC category in the National Eligibility cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Dalit girl Gurpreet Kaur Insan, whose father sells toys and stitches clothes, seems determined to become a cardiologist to help poor heart patients.

“I want to become a cardiologist as I have been seeing many poor heart patients who die due to the lack of timely treatment.” said Gurpeet at her single room accommodation in Nagra village.

She completed her Class V studies from the village government school and got selected in Navodaya Vidyalya, Longowal, where she studied from Class VI to Class X. Later with the help of Bhai Jaita Singh Foundation, she completed her senior secondary education from a Mohali school. Later, she got coaching last year from a private institute with the help of the foundation.

“Last year, I got admission in BDS, but I wanted to pursue MBBS so I restarted my preparation” said Gurpreet.

Her father Jagtar Singh (42), who has studied till Class X, said he had failed to clear an interview for the job of peon in a cooperative bank around 18 years back.

“That failure taught me lot and from the beginning I kept motivating my children to do their best saying that it was only education which could give them a better life as we do not have other resources like property or a handsome income” said Gurpreet, who earns around Rs 6,000-8,000 a month by selling toys in various villages on his two-wheeler. He also stitches clothes for others at his house.