Jagdalpur: As many as 47 students from Gyan Gudi, a free residential coaching initiative launched by the Bastar district administration, have qualified for the NEET exam, marking a significant achievement for students from the Bastar forest region.
#WATCH | Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh | Students from the Bastar forest region have excelled, with 47 students from Gyan Gudi, a free residential coaching initiative launched by the District Administration in Bastar, qualifying for the NEET exam. pic.twitter.com/VdGeifrwb7
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2026
Bastar Collector Akash Chhikara congratulated the students on their success and said their performance had made not only their parents but the entire district proud.
“It is a matter of great joy that among the students studying at Gyan Gudi, a district administration initiative in Bastar district, approximately 50 have qualified for the NEET exam, and four have qualified in nursing. Their counselling will begin next month, and we hope they will be admitted to a good medical college,” Chhikara said. He said clearing the national-level NEET exam had brought glory to the students’ parents as well as the Bastar region.
Chhikara also said the administration plans to expand the coaching initiative beyond NEET and JEE to include examinations such as SSC and banking.
“We hope they will go on to become excellent doctors and play an integral role in improving medical facilities in our region. We are hoping to expand our preparation from just NEET and JEE exams to SSC, banking and other exams that require questions from general subjects like general knowledge, math, and English,” he said.
Gyan Gudi in-charge Alexander Cherian said 379 students have enrolled for NEET through the initiative, with 240 qualifying for the examination.
“All children have talent; it needs to be nurtured. So far, 379 students have enrolled in NEET, 240 of whom have qualified. Many are enrolled in our government medical college, and 37 of our students were selected in PAT. They have enrolled in all the universities and agricultural universities in Chhattisgarh,” Cherian said. He said students from the region could compete and progress alongside those from metropolitan cities if provided with the right opportunities.
“Almost all of our students have also joined medical colleges. If children are provided with opportunities, our children can also compete and progress with the children of metro cities,” Cherian added.
NEET-qualified student Aishwarya Panigrahi said the initiative had provided her with significant support during her preparation.
“This is a huge help. I even went to Hyderabad for a year and saw all the struggles there. I faced everything from a language barrier in another state to coming here, and I found all the facilities here,” she said. She added that the teachers were supportive and readily available to clear doubts and provide motivation throughout the preparation.
(With inputs from ANI)
