SAMBALPUR: Mathematician and the brain behind Super 30 initiative Anand Kumar has decided to expand his base to Odisha. Super 30 is a highly ambitious and innovative educational programme running under the banner of Ramanujan School of Mathematics, started by Anand. 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) - for free.
Informing this to mediapersons on Saturday, Kumar said he has tied up with Bhubaneswar-based Adyant Plus Two Science College and the latter has agreed to bear all the expenses of the students. Thirty Odia students from economically backward section would be selected and trained by Anand for free to crack the IIT-JEE entrance examination. Students would be selected from Jeypore, Balasore, Sambalpur, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Berhampur through an entrance examination that will be held at Sambalpur on July 2.
“Students will have to appear for objective- type questions in physics, chemistry and mathematics and based on their results, selection would be done,” said Anand, who had started the Super 30 programme in 2003. Students have to undergo 16-hour daily study routine for a year. So far, 396 students from Patna-based Ramanujan School of Mathematics have cracked the IIT-JEE entrance test.
This year too, all 30 underprivileged students coached by Anand have cracked the JEE-Advanced for admissions to the IITs. Children of taxi drivers, masons, farmers and daily-wagers are among the successful candidates and are mostly from schools affiliated to the Bihar Board.To a query on whether the expansion would affect the performance of his Super 30 in Patna, he revealed that students who had attended his coaching are willing to pay back to the society leaving behind flourishing careers. Some among them will devote time in Odisha and apart from them, he would personally teach students for four days in a month.
Anand said he found students of Odisha more disciplined and focused compared to those from Bihar, who are fickle-minded. Sources in Adyant said while they charge `4.5 lakh for the entire Plus Two course, Super 30 students will not be charged a single pie and would be provided free lodging and boarding.