The results of the highly competitive IIT JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination) exams were announced recently. Over 5 lakh aspiring students from all over the country waited with bated breath to know if they had made it to their dream institute – the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)! Arpit Agarwal of Delhi topped the national exam, but the news from Patna’s Super 30 cannot be missed!
If you are still wondering what Super 30 is, it’s time you read about this inspiring story. 
Anand Kumar, the founder of Super 30, is an Indian mathematician and columnist. This brilliant mathematician secured admission into Cambridge University, but could not join the reputed institute due to poverty! Having had to accept the bitter defeat of his dreams at the pangs of poverty, he founded ‘Super 30’ (an IIT coaching institute) in 2003.
About Super 30
Super 30 identifies 30 (as the name implies) meritorious students from economically weak sections of society. The institute provides free lodging, food, and most importantly coaching to these students who aspire to crack the difficult IIT-JEE exam. In 2012, 27 of Super 30’s thirty have cracked the exam.
Since its inception, the institute’s success rate makes news annually. The humble institute has sent over 263 students from poor families to the premier institutes of engineering, making their expensive dreams achievable. An inspiring story of hard work, success, and magical realization of dreams! 
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This at a time when private coaching industry in India is valued at over Rupees 4,000 crore! Did you know that most IIT-aspirants in India, pay Rupees 2 to 3 lakhs as fees to private coaching institutes? What’s more, these aspirants prepare for the entrance exam from school and only one in 50 finally makes it to IITs!!
This is not the case with Super 30. Only those students who have completed secondary school, and are in their 12th grade, are eligible for the institute’s entrance test. Among the thousands who write the entrance exam, only 30 are selected for rigorous coaching that spans a year. These ambitious students study for at least 16 hours per day at the institute in Patna. In return, Anand Kumar expects no fees but shapes the course of 30 ambitious and hard-working lives. Amazing, don’t you think?
Acknowledging the institute’s success, both government and corporate tycoons have offered financial support, but Anand Kumar has always turned down the offer! Super 30 is funded by the income generated from his Ramanujam School of Mathematics.
It is thus not surprising that Kumar’s initiative has drawn international accolades! Time magazine selected Super 30 in the list of “Best of Asia” in 2010. Another reputed magazine Newsweek listed it among the top four innovative schools in the world! (And we thought India cannot figure on any such list ).
In fact, the institute is widely popular in Japan through documentaries and books. The success of the institute was also telecast by Discovery channel. Anand has won national and international awards for his selfless service to uplift talented minds from poor backgrounds. It’s no wonder that he has even delivered lectures at IITs and IIMs!!
There’s also news that famed director Anurag Basu is planning a movie on the institute and its founder . Apparently Anand’s connection with movies doesn’t stop here. He helped Amitabh Bachchan in preparing for his role in Prakash Jha’s film ‘Aarakshan’ which was based on commercialization of education by private coaching institutes. (No wonder the movie had AB tutoring poor students free of cost like Anand does at Super 30! )
Super 30 is Inspiring!
This story proves that with proper guidance and teaching, students from poor families and rural background can indeed contribute towards national growth.
33% of India’s population is below the poverty line and the recently passed RTE (Right to Education) Act works towards bridging the inequality in education by reserving 25% of seats (free of cost) in private schools for economically poor students.
Yes you got it right; kids from poor families can join any private school in their neighborhood from this year. It’s shocking that many aren’t even aware of the new act and the government is doing nothing to publicize it either! Application forms for enrollment are available at http://202.138.101.21/schregrte/default.aspx and also at schools.
Share this piece of information with people around you! You may change a kid’s life just like Super 30 does! You can do your bit too!