Super-30!

Every year, over 2,00,000 Indian youths appear for the intensely competitive entrance exam to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) -- the seven prestigious schools that train India's top-notch engineers and entrepreneurs. After the grueling test, only 5,000 students are offered a place in the IITs. Most come from middle-class backgrounds and prepare for the exams through private coaching. But in the past few years, a small group of desperately poor, talented students have made it into the IITs, thanks to the Ramanujan School of Mathematics.

The school, named after the famous Indian mathematician, is even more intense than the IITs themselves. Located in Patna, Bihar, one of India's least developed states; it trains just 30 students a year to take the IIT exam. Anand Kumar, a local mathematician, and Abhayanand, Patna's deputy director general of police and a lover of physics, founded the school in 2003 to help promising locals get ahead in the caste-based society. They searched Bihar's least privileged communities for 30 bright students to coach for the exam, providing free lessons and housing. They call their group the Super 30. In the first year, 16 of the group made it into the IITs. The next year, 22 made it.

Anand Kumar, himself, was hailed as a child prodigy and had an invitation from Cambridge but did not have the money to go. He ran from pillar to post for help but none came forward. He resolved to do his best to help the talented that were throttled by poverty. He was joined by Abhayanand who believed that "Intelligence is not birth-specific". Interestingly the students from less-privileged backgrounds who made it to the IITs thanks to nurturing from the now-famous Super-30 Institute, are now involved in talent-spotting among child labourers so that can be trained and prepared for IIT.

Through silent but significant actions, the Ramanujan School is involved in empowering our nation by making success accessible to those with potential by providing proactive motivation and guidance. Nations rise when citizens take on the responsibility to change the situation. Thinking about self is being one-dimensional; thinking about the other person is being two-dimensional, thinking about the larger picture… of the future of our nation is being truly multi-dimensional.

Talent is tempered with technique and temperament…
“develop new dimensions” to aid achievements

Regards
Pravin
22 January 2007, Goa.