Meet 21-year-old West Bengal labourer who cracked NEET 2024 exam, used to earn ₹300 a day to pay fees

A video of a 21-year-old labourer from a West Bengal village who cracked the NEET exam with a score of 677 out of 720 has gone viral on social media.

Sheikh Sarfaraz used to lift 400 bricks to earn ₹300 per day, a job he had been doing for the past two years to support his family.

He worked from 6 am to 2 pm to pay his college fees.

The video has garnered more than 1.3 million views and over 100k likes so far.

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In the video, he recalled how he was bullied, saying “aas-paas ke log bolte hain, itni padhai karne ke baad bhi yeh kaam kar raha hai” (the people around me used to say, despite studying so much, I am still working as a labourer).

Sarfaraz’s inspirational journey

Sarfaraz lives in a house built under the PM Awas Yojana and works alongside his father as a labourer to support his family.

Earlier, Sarfaraz had dreamed of joining the National Defence Academy (NDA) after completing 10th grade. He even cleared the first phase in 2022, but an accident a month before the interview did not let him qualify for the final stage of the NDA exam.

He further said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, with monetary support from the government, he bought a smartphone and decided to prepare for the NEET exam.

He started watching Physics Wallah’s videos on YouTube and later enrolled in its course through a discount scheme.

After clearing the NEET exam in 2023, Sarfaraz joined a dental college but quit later as the college did not have hostel facilities and he did not have enough money to meet his daily needs.

Despite the poor financial condition, he again took the challenge to clear the NEET exam in 2024.

His determination and hard work have brought him success, and now he is set to join Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College in Kolkata.