Anand Kumar
Anand *ar (born 1 January 1973) is an Indian Mathematics educator best known for his Super 30 programme, which he started in Patna, Bihar in 2002, and which coaches underprivileged students for JEE - Advanced, the entrance examination for the Indian Ins*utes of Technology (IITs). By 2018, 422 out of 510 students had made it to the IITs and Discovery Channel showcased his work in a do*entary. *ar has spoken at MIT and Harvard about his programs for students from the underprivileged sections of Indian society. *ar and his school have been the subject of several smear campaigns, some of which have been carried in Indian media sources. His life and work had been portrayed in the 2019 film, Super 30, where *ar is played by Hrithik Roshan.
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 Teaching career
- 3 Personal life
- 4 Recognition
- 5 Awards
- 6 In popular culture
- 7 Smear campaigns
- 8 References
- 9 External links
Early life
Anand *ar was born in Bihar, India. His father was a clerk in the postal department of India. His father could not afford private schooling for his children, and Anand attended a Hindi medium government school, where he developed his deep interest in mathematics. In his childhood, he studied at Patna High School, in Patna, Bihar. During his graduation, *ar submitted papers on number theory, which were published in the Mathematical Spectrum. *ar secured admission to the University of Cambridge, but could not attend because of his father's death and his financial condition.
Teaching career
Further information: Super 30In 1992, *ar began teaching mathematics. He rented a cl*room for Rs. 300 per month, and began his own ins*ute, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics (RSM). Within the span of year, his cl* grew from two students to thirty-six, and after three years almost 500 students had enrolled. Then in early 2000, when a poor student came to him seeking coaching for IIT-JEE, who could not afford the annual admission fee due to poverty, *ar was motivated to start the Super 30 programme in 2002, for which he is now well-known.
Since 2002, every May, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics holds a compe*ive test to select 30 students for the Super 30 program. Many students appear at the test, and eventually, he takes thirty intelligent students from economically backward sections, tutors them, and provides study materials and lodging for a year. He prepares them for the Joint Entrance Examination for the Indian Ins*utes of Technology (IIT). His mother, Jayanti Devi, cooks for the students, and his brother Pranav *ar takes care of the management.
During 2003 to 2017, 391 students out of 450 p*ed the IITs. In 2010, all the students of Super 30 cleared IIT JEE entrance making it a three in a row for the ins*ution. *ar has no financial support for Super 30 from any government as well as private agencies, and manages on the tuition fee he earns from the Ramanujan Ins*ute. After the success of Super 30 and its growing popularity, he received offers from the private sector – both national and international companies – as well as the government for financial help, but he has refused it; *ar wanted to sustain Super 30 through his own efforts.
From 2006 to 2007, 30 out of 30 students cleared the IIT-JEE. In subsequent years, the p* rates for the 30 students at the IIT-JEE examinations were: 2011 – 24, 2012–27, 2013–28, 2014–27, 2015–25, 2016–28, 2017–30, and 2018–26.
Personal life
In 2019, *ar revealed that he has been suffering from Acoustic neuroma, a rare kind of brain tumor, and lost 80-90% hearing ability of his right ear due to it. He is under treatment of renowned neurosurgeon B. K. Misra at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
Recognition
In March 2009, Discovery Channel broadcast a one-hour-long programme on Super 30, and half a page was devoted to *ar in The New York Times. Actress and former Miss *an Norika Fujiwara visited Patna to make a do*entary on *ar's initiatives. *ar has been featured in programmes by the BBC. He has spoken about his experiences at various global-level ins*utes including Indian Ins*ute of Management Ahmedabad, a number of IITs, University of British Columbia, Tokyo University and Stanford University. He was also inducted in the Limca Book of Records (2009) for his contribution in helping poor students p* the IIT-JEE by providing them free coaching. Time magazine included Super 30 in the list of Best of Asia 2010. *ar was awarded the S. Ramanujan Award for 2010 by the Ins*ute for Research and Do*entation in Social Sciences (IRDS) in July 2010.
Super 30 received praise from United States President Barack Obama's special envoy, Rashad Hussain, who termed it the "best" ins*ute in the country. Newsweek Magazine has taken note of the initiative of mathematician Anand *ar's Super 30 and included his school in the list of four most innovative schools in the world. *ar was given the top award of Bihar government, "Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar", in November 2010. He was awarded the Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar award in 2010 by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bangalore.
In April 2011, *ar was selected by Europe's magazine Focus as "one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people." *ar also helped Amitabh Bachchan in preparing for his role in the film Aarakshan. Many people from Bollywood including renowned directors and producers are interested in making a movie on the life of Anand *ar. He was named by UK based magazine Monocle among the list of 20 pioneering teachers of the world. He was also honoured by government of British Columbia, Canada. *ar was given the Baroda Sun Life Achievement Award by Bank of Baroda in Mumbai. *ar was conferred with the Ramanujan Mathematics Award at the Eighth National Mathematics Convention at function in Rajkot. He was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) by Karpagam University, Coimbatore. He was also awarded Maharishi Ved Vyas by Madhya Pradesh Government for extraordinary contribution in education Anand *ar was honored by ministry of education of Saxony of Germany.
*ar presented his biography to then-President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, which was written by Canada-based psychiatrist Biju Mathew. *ar was awarded "Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award" by president of India Ram Nath Kovind. A Canadian MP Marc Dalton has praised Anand *ar's "inspiring work" with underprivileged children as a successful model for education in Canadian parliament.
Awards
On 8 November 2018, Anand *ar was honoured with the Global Education Award 2018 by Malabar Gold & Diamonds in Dubai. His efforts in the field of education are considered "pioneering". Anand *ar has been felicitated in the US with "Education Excellence Award 2019 " by the Foundation For Excellence in Education (FFE) at a function in San Jose, California. Anand *ar received "Mahaveer Award" in Chennai.Anand *ar recently awarded with Bharat Ganit Ratna Award 2022- a special award declared by DASA India - National VO operated from Agartala Tripura on 10 March 2022, which has been handed over by Anjan Banik, National Chairman of DASA India.
In popular culture
Bollywood director Vikas Bahl has directed a film *led Super 30, with Hrithik Roshan as Anand *ar, based on his life and works. The movie was successful at the box office and became a great inspiration for many students.
Smear campaigns
On 23 July 2018, an article in Dainik Jagran cited former Super 30 students who said that only three students from the program had p*ed the IIT JEE exam that year, contrary to *ar's claim that 26 had p*ed. The report also claimed that students who sought to enroll in Super 30 were pushed to enroll in another coaching center called Ramanujan Cl*es, a for-profit ins*ution, on the pretext that *ar would coach them if they performed well. Furthermore, the article alleged that by asking IIT aspirants to enroll in Ramanujan Cl*es, *ar made over Rs 1 crore annually.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav spoke in favour of Anand *ar and said that "propaganda is being run in media influenced by feudal mindset to discredit and defame Anand *ar." Union Cabinet Minister and former actor, Shatrughan Sinha, has also spoken in *ar's favour on Twitter. In August 2018, The Hindu reported that *ar and his school are frequently the target of smear campaigns, and identified the potential sources of the fabricated stories that appeared in the Dainik Jagran newspaper in July.Dainik Jagran made amends and presented its ‘Editor’s Choice Award’ to Super 30 founder Anand *ar in 2021 recognising his work in the field of education.
References
External links
- Biography portal
- India portal
- Education portal
- Super30 website