National Toppers Scheme Made Way For Dr Kumar
If it wasn’t for the National Toppers Scheme, I wouldn’t have made it as a Medical Doctor. This was the sentiment shared by Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) graduate Dr Roneel Rohendra Kumar.
Raised in a rice farming community in Nacula, Dreketi in the Macuata Province, the 24-year-old said growing up was not an easy feat.
“It was a humble beginning for me, my mum and dad were rice farmers,” he said.
“Rice farming was our major source of income and dad would go and catch fish, crabs etc and he would sell it for our school stuff and food.
“I attended Muanidevo Sanatan School in Dreketi from Year One to Eight and we would walk every morning to school with my two older siblings, the school was about seven kilometres from home.
“We’d leave at 6am and reach school at about 8am. It was a muddy road, sometimes we would slip and fall and reach school in our dirty uniform.
“When we finally had a bus we couldn’t take the bus every morning because we did not have fare, or if I go by bus then my brother or sister will have to walk down to school. That was the situation at home.”
He said horse rides were the form of transportation to school when they were in Year Five and Six.
He attended Dreketi Sangam College until Year 10 and later on Labasa College from Year 11 to Year 13.
The dream
Dr Kumar said his initial plan was to become an engineer.
“So when I was in Form Five I had to choose between subject combinations, first week of school I took accounting, economics and computers,” he said.
“When I was sitting in economics class, because it was very theoretical, I would actually doze off in class.
“After one week I had returned all my notes and told my teacher that I couldn’t do it. I picked up my desk and moved to the science class to take physics, IT and computer.”
In Form Six, he received a scholarship to study mechanical engineering in India but wasn’t keen to explore this option.
“Form Six I did my exam and had good grades, Form Seven I applied for a Commercial pilot’s licence. Pacific Flying School called me but by that time I was already enjoying my holiday in Taveuni,” he said.
“But we could only apply for TELS and then I was a bit hesitant and said that I wanted to do something under the National Toppers
Scheme.”
He had to go through another obstacle while applying for medical school because of his subject combination.
“They called me and told me that it would be hard for me because I didn’t take biology and chemistry. I told them that I was able to do it.
“At 10pm I received a call that they had approved my application.”
Medical School
His journey started at the Fiji National University College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science in 2016.
“I started off with the MBBS programme and did my first exam and almost failed. I got a C+. I’ve never been on the verge of failing ever in my education,” he said.
“From Class One to Form Seven I have never come second, I’m always on top of the class.
“I worked hard after my first examination which I almost failed, I would be up at 3am to 4am studying.”
He said he faced a lot of challenges in medical school but was always determined to push through every
time.
“In year three I became sick and I missed classes and then I went back to do my exam. I went through a phase of depression because there was pressure from school, sought help from the school counsellor and I managed to pull through again.
“Years four and five was a bit challenging too, we had to do practicals at CWM Hospital. Later part of year five we had to come back home because of the second wave of the virus.
“Year Six I did my one month of practice at Labasa Hospital and also online learning was a bit tough but we pushed through.”
How he did it
Dr Kumar said being in medical school was tough.
“I always told people that it is tough because it demands from you,” he said.
“If you just focus on education and forget other parts of life then you will be lost. So then I decided to balance my student life, academic life, and social life.
“I did not only study, I went out with my friends for dinner and a
few drinks when I had the opportunity, I participated in workshops and this year I managed to write two papers on vaccine hesitancy and managed to publish the papers. In that way I managed.”
He said the right support from family and friends also helped him during the six years of studies.
National Toppers Scheme
He added that if he had to pay his school fees from his pocket it would be around $120,000 which included academic and accommodation.
“I have said before that without the National Toppers Scheme or TELS there would be many students like me that would have opted to go for the cheaper qualification. We would be doing something that our parents could afford,” he said.
“This was an initiative that helped me and some others who had graduated with MBBS to pay for our fees. I know the priorities now have changed because our patient to doctor ratio has improved but in future it might just come back again when we need more doctors.
“It kept us on a drive, especially when we didn’t have anything to begin with, we have to do what was expected of us and that is to work hard.”
He added that the drive to push through despite the circumstances also came from the struggles we went through during his childhood.
Message
Dr Kumar’s message is: “Go for it! There will be a lot of noise, talking, people will talk about you like I have experienced but at the end of the day everything will just be a noise.
“If you focus too much on the noise it will become an obstacle, and it might not lead you to where you want to go.
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you cannot do it. Work hard, that’s the foundation of everything else. Never forget where you come from.”
He acknowledged the love and support of his uncle from Labasa Mukesh Prasad, best friend from high school Mosese Matakece, parents Bimla Wati and Manoj Kumar and his siblings Priteshna Kumar and Shelveen Kumar.