>Super 30 founder is Europe journal’s global personality

>Mr. Anand Kumar, who founded Super 30, Bihar’s free coaching centre which helps economically backward students crack the Joint Entrance Exam of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (commonly known as IIT-JEE), has been selected by Europe’s magazine Focus as one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people. He is the only Indian named in the list.

“This gives me a feel that honest and sincere efforts get noticed, no matter where they are being made. I will carry on with my pursuit of educating poor children,” Mr. Kumar said.

Focus is published by Italy’s biggest publishing house Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Apart from Mr. Kumar, the article also mentions Iwano Brugneti (athlete). Earlier, Time magazine had described Super 30 as the ‘best of Asia.’ Discovery channel made an hour-long documentary on Mr. Kumar, while a film made by a British producer won the “Viewers’ Choice Award” in the Los Angeles Film Fest.

Mr. Kumar, who could not go to the Cambridge University for higher studies because of extreme financial constraint after the death of his father, started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992 and founded the Super 30 in 2002.

Super 30 provides free food, stay and rigorous coaching for nearly a year to 30 poor and talented students selected through a two-tier examination process. Most of the successful candidates have come from the most underprivileged sections of society.

In the past eight years, the initiative has helped 212 students clear the IIT entrance test. In the last three years, all the 30 students of the institute made it to the IITs each year, drawing worldwide attention. The students have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study each day, Mr. Kumar said.

Japanese channel NHK and Al Jazeera also made documentaries on Super 30. In 2007, industrialist Mukesh Ambani honoured Mr. Kumar with the ‘Real Hero Award.’ During his visit last year, US President Barack Obama’s envoy Rashad Hussain described Super 30 as the “best in India”.

Source: Business Line, April 21, 2011

Poor man’s IIT coach in Time’s "Best of Asia" list

“Super 30”, the Patna-based institute which has been coaching poor students for IITs, has found a place in Time magazine’s list of Best of Asia 2010.T ime magazine has described Super 30 as the “Best Cram School” in its list. Last year, 30 of them came from one coaching centre in Patna, capital of the impoverished north Indian state of Bihar. That may not seem like many, but for the Super 30 centre its a pass rate of 100%, the magazine said in its latest issue. What makes that feat even more remarkable is that these students are the poorest of the poor, who would otherwise never be able to afford full-time coaching, it added. The institutes director-cum-founder Anand Kumar was thrilled by the latest recognition showered on his efforts. A student enrolled in Super 30 gets full scholarships, including accommodation and food.

The institute has become so popular that every year, thousands of students make a beeline for getting an entry into it. They now have to pass a competitive test just to get into Super 30, and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study every day. Since 2003, 182 of a total 210 students have made it to one of the IITs.

Time magazine said the project has even won the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who met Mr. Kumar in February to hear his plan to launch a national programme for talented rural children. In a country that has struggled to offer those students even basic education, Super 30 is an example of what’s possible when human potential is tapped, the magazine said. The institute was started by Mr. Kumar along with Bihar’s Additional Director-General of Police Abhayanand in 2002 in Patna. But two years ago, Abhayanand dissociated himself from the institute.

Source: The Economic Times, May 15, 2010

Poor man’s IIT coach in Time’s "Best of Asia" list

“Super 30”, the Patna-based institute which has been coaching poor students for IITs, has found a place in Time magazine’s list of Best of Asia 2010.T ime magazine has described Super 30 as the “Best Cram School” in its list. Last year, 30 of them came from one coaching centre in Patna, capital of the impoverished north Indian state of Bihar. That may not seem like many, but for the Super 30 centre its a pass rate of 100%, the magazine said in its latest issue. What makes that feat even more remarkable is that these students are the poorest of the poor, who would otherwise never be able to afford full-time coaching, it added. The institutes director-cum-founder Anand Kumar was thrilled by the latest recognition showered on his efforts. A student enrolled in Super 30 gets full scholarships, including accommodation and food.

The institute has become so popular that every year, thousands of students make a beeline for getting an entry into it. They now have to pass a competitive test just to get into Super 30, and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study every day. Since 2003, 182 of a total 210 students have made it to one of the IITs.

Time magazine said the project has even won the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who met Mr. Kumar in February to hear his plan to launch a national programme for talented rural children. In a country that has struggled to offer those students even basic education, Super 30 is an example of what’s possible when human potential is tapped, the magazine said. The institute was started by Mr. Kumar along with Bihar’s Additional Director-General of Police Abhayanand in 2002 in Patna. But two years ago, Abhayanand dissociated himself from the institute.

Source: The Economic Times, May 15, 2010