Author:
Publication: Yourstory.in
Date: December 7, 2008
URL: http://www.yourstory.in/entrepreneurs/entrepreneur-of-the-week/1528-anand-kumar-super-30-patna
Demolishing financial barriers. Building new
careers.
In an ideal world, Anand Kumar would be found
sitting comfortably with his feet up in either Darjeeling or Varanasi listening
to the soothing sounds of Indian classical music. If he ever felt hungry,
a wonderful spread of the most-sumptuous food would magically appear before
him - all including his favourite platter of paneer kebabs! Ah, but what would
make Mr.Anand Kumar happiest? The answer is mathematics.
Yes, Anand Kumar loves solving all kinds of
intriguing and mystifying mathematical problems.
"I always wanted to become a mathematician",
smiles Anand Kumar, the man who formed a Mathematics Club, 'Ramanujan School
of Mathematics' during his graduation. "My teachers encouraged me a lot
and under the guidance of my mentor and guru, Devi Prasad Verma, (then the
Head, Department of Mathematics, Patna Science College), I started a training
programme for mathematics lovers. It was a free programme, which anybody with
interest in Mathematics could join." As time rolled by, Anand contributed
several problems and papers on Mathematics to various national and international
journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Then in 1994, opportunity came knocking at
the door in the form of the prestigious Cambridge University. Unfortunately,
financial hardship ended that dream even before it had begun. "I felt
the pangs of poverty", sighed Anand, "I decided to do something
for the poor students, who invariably fade away without getting right opportunities."
This led to the birth of the new and improved
'Ramanujan School of Mathematics'. "Here we trained a small group of
students for various competitive examinations at a very nominal fee."
However, many of his students were extremely poor and were in no position
to pay even that small amount. But Anand Kumar was about to change the rules
and his first rule was to shatter financial constraints for such students.
"They just did not have to pay anything",
declared Anand, "After some time, I decided to shape this programme seriously
to cater to the poor, but meritorious students more significantly." His
brother, Pranav Kumar, a talented violinist from Mumbai, agreed to join his
team and that lead to the formation of the innovative Super 30 programme.
Super 30 is a highly ambitious and innovative
educational program running under the banner of the "Ramanujan School
of Mathematics". It hunts for 30 meritorious talents from among the economically
backward sections of the society and shapes them for India's most prestigious
institution - the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). In the last six years,
it has produced hundreds IITians from extremely poor background. During this
program students are provided absolutely free coaching, lodging and food.
Children of brick kiln worker, rickshaw puller, landless farmer, roadside
vendors have all gone on to become top technocrats much to the joy and amazement
of their parents.
Talent knows no boundaries. It all around
us - even in the most unlikely places. All that is needed is for one to spot
that talent and nurture it till it blossoms. Super 30 is doing just that over
the past six years and the results have been encouraging. The talented students
have been given quality teaching and an open atmosphere to perform to the
best of their potential without any financial constraints. If they have it
in them, Super 30 is there to guide them to where they belong even if that
means providing this service for free.
But where was the money going to come from?
Surely a Mathematics(Hons.) graduate could rack up the numbers? "Initially,
making all arrangements for 30 students, was not so easy", he admitted,
"but I generated funds by tutoring students of other schools, while my
mother, Jayanti Devi, cooked food for the students." For the students,
however, there was only one goal - to study hard. The results came as a big
surprise in the very first year as 18 of 30 students cracked the IIT entrance.
This spurred on Mr.Kumar and his team of dedicated teachers to strive for
even better results. In total, 152 out of 180 have made to the different IITs
of the country since the program began. However, the 'magic moment' came in
2008, when an astonishing 30 of 30 students made the grade! "It was 'a
dream come true' for me and my team", beamed our entrepreneur, "What
is more, the extended batch of Super 30, comprising another 70 students, also
fared brilliantly with 39 of them cracking the IIT-JEE." This was a new
batch started in 2007, with the effort of his committed group of teachers
following an overwhelming demand.
The primary objective for the programme is
to help more and more students from economically poor sections reach the IITs.
"We want students from all across India", urged Anand, "It
is for the government to change the face of Bihar so that we get more students
from the other states."
The programme aims to change the selection criteria from the current Plus-Two
level to a much younger set of children. "If talented students are spotted
at the school-level it can work wonders", states Anand. In the
coming 5-6 years, they want to increase the class count to 500 students and
subsequently set up more schools for poor children. Innovative teaching techniques
will be used to develop an interest in Mathematics and Science subjects at
an early age. It would shape them for different Olympiads and prepare them
for other competitions. The thrust would be on developing inquisitiveness
- a quality that is all important for science and math education.
To end his YourStory interview, Anand Kumar
imparted a few wise words of advice to the young entrepreneurs of our country:
"Start the business with whatever amount
of money you have and try to avoid taking help from people. Even I have never
taken any monetary help from anybody I was getting offers from not just the
government of Bihar but big business tycoons. While I am grateful to all those
who approached me with help I am happy the way I am - pursuing my love for
mathematics."
