'Super-30' head wants to reciprocate concept in other streams

After achieving 100 per cent success for two consecutive years, the founder of the revolutionary 'Super-30' concept for training poor students to crack the IIT selection process, wants his model to be replicated in other streams of education.        

Started seven years back, Bihar's Super-30 group, wherein 30 "potential" students from economically weaker backgrounds are chosen and trained for the IIT selection process, has produced over 100 IITians so far.        

Mathematics scholar Anand Kumar, the brain behind the concept, now wants his highly successful experiment to be replicated in other streams of education and says he is ready to help interested people in bringing this about.        

"I believe such a model should be extended to prepare poor children for entering administrative services and for cracking the mathematics and physics Olympiads and even for journalism," Kumar told PTI.        

"I am ready to offer my expertise to help people who are interested in taking the model to other areas," he said.        

The last two years have produced 100 per cent results, with all 30 of its students drawn from the remote areas of Bihar and Jharkhand, making it to the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology.

Kumar is also expanding the net of reach of his group to other states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and will triple the intake for his programme to induct 90 students for the batch that starts this year.        

"We have ventured out of Bihar and Jharkhand this year to pick brilliant but underprivileged children from other states of the Hindi-speaking belt," Kumar said.        

The Super-30 programme runs under the banner of Ramanujam School of Mathematics and provides free coaching and lodging to students.        

"We have picked up students who do not have the wherewithal to support their education, set apart additional coaching, and I am happy that we have sent to the IITs children of farmers, autorickshaw drivers, vendors and the likes," Kumar said.        

Kumar, who has published several research papers in mathematics, had failed to make it to the Cambridge University due to financial constraints.        

"Despite an offer for a course in mathematics, I could not take admission in the Cambridge University due to financial constraints. I am happy I have enabled people from backgrounds similar to mine to reach India's most coveted programme," he said.