Super 30

Super 30 is an Indian educational program started in Patna, India under the banner of Ramanujan School of Mathematics. It was founded by Anand Kumar, a mathematics teacher, and Abhayanand, the former D.G.P of Bihar.[1][2] The program selects 30 talented candidates each year from economically underprivileged sections of Indian society and trains them for the JEE. The program is portrayed in the 2019 film, Super 30, starring Hrithik Roshan as Kumar. Kumar, and his school, have been the subject of several smear campaigns, some of which have been carried in Indian media sources.[3]

This article is about the educational program. For the 2019 film, see Super 30 (film).

Super 30
Super 30 class of 2006
Location
Patna, Bihar

India
Information
TypeInstitute
Established2002 (2002)
PrincipalAnand Kumar
Enrollment30 students
Campus typeEducation
Team nameSuper 30
Websitewww.super30.org

History

In 2002, Abhayanand and Anand Kumar started Super 30 with the plan to select 30 talented students from economically impoverished sections who could not afford IIT coaching. These 30 students were then prepared to pass IIT-JEE examinations. Anand Kumar's mother, Jayanti Devi, volunteered to cook for the students while Anand Kumar, Abhayanand, and other teachers tutored them.[4] The students were also provided study materials and lodging for a year free of cost.[5]

In the first year of the coaching, 18 out of 30 students made it to IIT. The following year, application numbers soared due to the popularity of the program and written examination was conducted to select 30 students. In 2004, 22 out of 30 students qualified for IIT-JEE, increasing the popularity of the program which attracted even more applications.[6]

In 2005, 26 out of 30 students cleared the IIT-JEE exam, while 28 in 2006 - this despite the fact that IIT changed the examination structure. In appreciation of their efforts, Bihar Chief Minister at the time Nitish Kumar congratulated the students with a cash prize of ₹50,000 each.[7]

The following year 28 more students cleared the IIT-JEE, and in 2008, all of the Super 30 students cleared the IIT-JEE, after which Abhayanand quit Super 30 saying "the experiment is over."[8] Some of Kumar's former students joined as Super 30 teachers and in 2009 and 2010 all 30 students again qualified the IIT JEE exams. In subsequent years the success rates from the 30 students were: 2011 (24 passed), 2012 (27 passed), 2013 (28 passed), 2014 (27 passed), 2015 (25 passed), and in 2016 (28 passed). In 2017, all Super 30 candidates made it to the IIT-JEE.[9] In 2018, 26 of the 30 students cleared the exam.[10]

Awards and recognition

Time Magazine included Super 30 in its list of The Best of Asia 2010.[11][12][13] The organization also received praise from US President Barack Obama's special envoy Rashad Hussain, who termed it the "best" institute in the country.[14] Newsweek Magazine included Super 30 in its list of Four Most Innovative Schools in the World.[15] Anand Kumar was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar in November 2010, the highest award given by the Bihar state government in the field of education.[16]

Smear campaigns

On July 23, 2018, an article in Dainik Jagran cited former Super 30 students who said that only three students from the program had passed the IIT JEE exam that year, contrary to Kumar's claim that 26 had passed.[17] The report also claimed that students who sought to enroll in Super 30 were pushed to enroll in another coaching center called Ramanujan Institute of Mathematics, a for-profit coaching institute, on the pretext that Kumar would coach them if they performed well. Furthermore, the article alleged that by asking IIT aspirants to enroll in Ramanuj Institute, Kumar made over ₹1 crore annually.[17]

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Current Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav spoke in favor of Anand Kumar and said that "propaganda is being run in media influenced by feudal mindset to discredit and defame Anand Kumar." Former Union Cabinet Minister Shatrughan Sinha has also spoken in Kumar's favor on Twitter.[18] In August 2018, The Hindu reported that Kumar and his school are frequently the focus of faked smear campaigns, and identified the potential sources of the fabricated stories that appeared in the Dainik Jagran newspaper in July.[3][19]

Film

Bollywood director Vikas Bahl cast Hrithik Roshan for his film Super 30, which is based on the life and works of Anand Kumar.[20] It theatrically released in India on 12 July 2019 to mixed reviews.[21]

gollark: The best part is that if I agonize too long the offers will probably vanish.
gollark: Another day, another few offers to agonize over.
gollark: I have free slots; it's a bizarre experience.
gollark: *What have you done?!*
gollark: Great, now I feel unsatisfied with the best-offer of a CB gold and CB GW.

References
  1. "Hrithik Roshan, you better read what Super 30 co-founder has to say about Anand Kumar | Bollywood News". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. "Mumbai: The wrong side of Super 30 continues good work in Thane". mid-day. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. Amarnath Tewary (22 August 2018). "Bihar Super-30 founder faces smear campaign". Retrieved 5 June 2019. When asked who is behind all this, he quipped, "everyone knows in Patna who is he…why should I take his name?" Is the former DGP Abhyanand who was earlier associated with Super-30 for five years? Mr. Kumar did not respond.
  4. "Helping poor Indians crack toughest test". 21 September 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  5. "Bihar's Super 30: First step on the ladder". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  6. 'NISHANK', DR RAMESH POKHRIYAL (8 April 2016). Dreams that Don’t Let You Sleep: Based on the Life Skills Management of Dr. Kalam. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789385975882.
  7. "CM felicitates Super-30 stars - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. "Cop quits Super-30, says the experiment is over - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  9. "All 'Super 30' candidates crack IIT-JEE Advanced - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  10. "26 students from Anand Kumar's Super 30 academy crack IIT-JEE". The Economic Times. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  11. "Math whiz' Super 30 in Time list". Deccan Herald.
  12. "Yahoo". Yahoo.
  13. Thottam, Jyoti (13 May 2010). "The Best of Asia 2010 - TIME". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  14. "Obama's special envoy hails Super 30". The Hindu. PTI. 8 August 2010. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 February 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. "Super-30' incredible, says Newsweek'". The Times Of India. 19 September 2010.
  16. "Super honour for Anand from Madhya Pradesh". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  17. "Patna's Super 30 mentor Anand Kumar accused of deceit to gain popularity". India Today. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  18. "Super 30 mentor Anand Kumar gets support from Tejashwi Yadav, Shatrughan Sinha amid charges of fabrication". The Financial Express. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  19. "Banker jailed for 86 days for 'no crime' in Bihar". The Times of India. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  20. "Confirmed! Hrithik Roshan is playing mathematician Anand Kumar in Vikas Bahl's Super 30". The Indian Express. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  21. "Super 30 movie review and rating: Critics' verdict on Hrithik Roshan's film". IB Times. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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