Boy from Bengal tops NET in his subject, focuses on PhD, research
Times of India | 3 March 2024
Kolkata: Bengal boy Anisur Hoque, also alumni of Presidency University and IIT-Kharagpur, has bagged the first position in his subject — Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences — at the Joint CSIR-UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) with a score of 172.2 out of 200.
Around 5,942 candidates appeared for the subject exam, which was held in Dec. The results of Joint CSIR-UGC NET were declared around Feb 19.Hoque did his Bachelors and Masters in geology at Presidency University from 2016-2021. Then he joined a two-year MTech course in exploration geoscience at IIT-Kharagpur. “I was confident that my score would be good, but coming first is beyond expectation,” said the resident of Rampurhat. Hoque is now planning to apply for PhD in IISC, Bangalore and different IITs. He also has plans to pursue research abroad.
“The situation of groundwater depletion in our country is alarming. I feel in the next few decades, there will be a huge crisis of water, especially groundwater. So my work will focus on the sustainable development of groundwater so that future generations can use groundwater,” Hoque said.
The 26-year-old thanked his family and friends for their immense support. “The credit for my achievement goes to my teachers at Sainik School, Purulia, Presidency and IIT-Kharagpur who guided me and told me to focus on the fundamentals of the subject so that my concepts are clear,” he said.
During his Presidency days, Hoque took part in campus politics and was a popular face that led the Hindu Hostel movement in 2018 and 2019 against the delay in the Hindu Hostel renovation. “I was suspended along with two others on allegations of locking the main gate and preventing the VC and other officials from entering the premises as part of the agitation. The suspension strengthened the students’ movement and we decided to undertake an indefinite hunger strike. Later the suspension was revoked due to students’ pressure,” Hoque said.
His teachers remember him for his dynamic character and leadership qualities apart from his academic performance. HoD of Geology department Arijit Roy said, “This is the first time in many years that any student has been placed first in Joint CSIR-UGC NET. This is a record for the department.” The university is not only proud of Hoque’s feats but is also celebrating the success of around 180 students who have cleared different national level research benchmark tests like NET and GATE in the academic year 2023-2024.
Registrar Debajyoti Konar said, “Dedicated teachers, meritorious students and a well-established teaching-learning process have placed Presidency in the trajectory of its legacy of excellence in academics.”