LUCKNOW: Princy, daughter of a farm labourer, once feared her dream of becoming a doctor would wilt in poverty. Pooja Ranjan, farmer’s daughter from Sonbhadra, never imagined she could afford a path to a medical college. Kaushambi’s Shweta, who grew up in a shop selling bicycle seat covers, couldn’t think beyond “sarkari” school. All three have cleared NEET this year.Twelve girls from Marihan’s Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in UP’s Mirzapur district have cracked the country’s toughest medical entrance exam. Of the 25 girls who appeared, all from SC/ST and OBC families, nearly half succeeded – a remarkable feat for a school run by UP’s social welfare department.The girls received free residential coaching at Sarvodaya, which runs classes 6 to 12 with hostel facilities for children from economically weaker background.Sarvodayas are residential schools, and these girls were staying in Marihan. In addition to regular school, they also attended coaching specifically for NEET, which was completely free,” said social welfare minister Asim Arun.Princy, a student at Sarvodaya in Kaushambi till Class 10, shifted to Marihan about 76 southwest of Varanasi for NEET preparation after clearing the coaching entrance. Pooja and Shweta followed a similar route. “I never imagined that this would be possible. I am still surprised,” said Shweta. “The coaching provided to us was top class. We had regular tests to help us prepare. I never thought that coaching here would be so good that I would be able to clear this exam,” said Pooja. “But with my hard work and assistance from govt, my dream has come true.”The success has brought a dramatic boost to Sarvodaya’s brand. NEET coaching began as a pilot in 2024 at Marihan. Support came from Tata AIG and Ex-Navodayan Foundation, a network of Navodaya alumni. “We approached families around Marihan and nearby Sarvodayas. Selected girls were transferred to Marihan with parental consent,” said Arun.Of 39 girls admitted to coaching for NEET and JEE, 25 took NEET – 12 cleared. Social welfare director Kumar Prashant called Marihan a “centre of excellence”. He said the model would now be scaled to other Sarvodaya Vidyalayas across UP, which currently has around 100 such schools.