Anand Kumar

Anand Kumar
Born Anand Kumar
1 January 1973
(age 45)
Patna, Bihar, India
Other names Super 30 Man,
Super Teacher
Alma mater Bihar National College,
Patna University
Occupation Educationalist, mathematician
Years active 2002 - Present
Known for Super 30
Notable work Coaching to Economically Backward Students for IIT-JEE examination
Spouse(s) Ritu Rashmi
Parent(s) Jayanti Devi
(mother)
Relatives Pranav Kumar (brother)
Jagat Kumar
(son)
Awards S. Ramanujan award (2010),[1] Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar (Nov. 2010)[2]
Honours Super 30 named in Time magazine's list of Best of Asia 2010
Website Super 30, official website

Anand Kumar (born 1 January 1973) is an Indian mathematician, educationalist and a columnist for various national and international mathematical journals and magazines. He is best known for his Super 30 programme, which he started in Patna, Bihar in 2002, and which coaches economically backward students for IIT-JEE, the entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). By 2018, 422 out of the 480 had made it to the IITs and Discovery Channel showcased his work in a documentary.[3][4][5][6][7] He has been invited by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University to speak on his globally acclaimed effort to mentor students from the underprivileged sections for admission to IIT.[8]

Early life

Anand Kumar was born in Patna, Bihar, India. His father was a clerk[9] 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.[10][11] In childhood, he studied in Patna High School Patna, Bihar. During graduation, Kumar submitted papers on number theory, which were published in Mathematical Spectrum and The Mathematical Gazette.[10]

Kumar secured admission to Cambridge University, but could not attend because of his father's death and his financial condition,[10][12] even after looking for sponsor in 1994-1995, both in Patna and Delhi.[13]

Kumar would work on mathematics during day time and would sell papads in evenings with his mother, who had started a small business from home, to support her family.[10] He also tutored students in maths to earn extra money. Since Patna University library did not have foreign journals, for his own study, he would travel every weekend on a six-hour train journey to Varanasi, where his younger brother, learning violin under N. Rajam, had a hostel room, so that he could work there .

Teaching career and Super 30

In 1992, Kumar began teaching mathematics.[10][11] He rented a classroom for Rs. 500 a month, and began his own institute, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics (RSM).[10][14] Within the span of year, his class grew from two students to thirty-six, and after three years there were almost 500 students enrolled.[10] Then in early 2000, when a poor student came to him seeking coaching for IIT-JEE, who couldn't afford the annual admission fee due to poverty, Kumar was motivated to start the Super 30 programme in 2002, for which he is now well-known.[10][13]

Every May, since 2002, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics holds a competitive 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.[10] He prepares them for the Joint Entrance Examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). His mother, Jayanti Devi, cooks for the students, and his brother Pranav Kumar takes care of the management.[10]

During 2003-2017, 391 students out of 450 have made it to the IITs.[10][15] In 2010, all the students of Super 30 cleared IIT JEE entrance making it a three in a row for the institution.[16] Kumar 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 Institute.[13] After the success of Super 30 and its growing popularity, he received many offers from the private sector - both national and international companies - as well as the government for financial help, but he always refused it. He wanted to sustain Super 30 through his own efforts.[13] After three consecutive 30/30 results in 2008-2010, in 2011, 24 of the 30 students cleared IIT JEE. In 2012, 27 of the 30 students, in 2013, 28 out of 30 students, in 2014, 27 of the 30 students, in 2015, 25 of the 30 students, in 2016, 28 out of 30 students, in 2017, 30 out of 30 students in 2018, 26 out of 30 students cleared the prestigious IIT JEE examination .[17][18] Kumar does not accept donations for the programme. His team creates the fund by organizing evening classes in Patna.

Recognition

In March 2009, Discovery Channel broadcast a one-hour-long programme on Super 30,[4][12][19] and half a page was devoted to Kumar in The New York Times.[12] Actress and former Miss Japan Norika Fujiwara visited Patna to make a documentary on Kumar's initiatives.[14] Kumar has been featured in programmes by the BBC.[12] He has spoken about his experiences at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, different IITs, University of British Columbia, Tokyo University and Stanford University.[12][20][21][22] Kumar is in the Limca Book of Records (2009) for his contribution in helping poor students pass the IIT-JEE by providing them free coaching.[23] Time magazine included Super 30 in the list of Best of Asia 2010. Kumar was awarded the S. Ramanujan Award for 2010 by the Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) in July 2010.[1]

Super 30 received praise from United States President Barack Obama's special envoy Rashad Hussain, who termed it the "best" institute in the country.[24] Newsweek Magazine has taken note of the initiative of mathematician Anand Kumar’s Super 30 and included his school in the list of four most innovative schools in the world.[25] Kumar was given the top award of Bihar government, "Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar", in November 2010.[2] He was awarded the Prof Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar 2010 by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bangalore.

In April 2011, Kumar was selected by Europe's magazine Focus as "one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people."[26] Kumar also helped Amitabh Bachchan in preparing for his role in the film Aarakshan.[27] Many people from Bollywood including renowned directors and producers are interested in making a movie on the life of Anand Kumar.[28] He was named by UK based magazine Monocle among the list of 20 pioneering teachers of the world.[29] He was also honoured by government of British Columbia, Canada.[30] Kumar was given the Baroda Sun Life Achievement Award by Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.[31] Kumar was conferred with the prestigious Ramanujan Mathematics Award at the Eighth National Mathematics Convention at function in Rajkot.[32] He was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) by Karpagam University, Coimbatore.[33] He was also awarded Maharishi Ved Vyas by Madhya Pradesh Government for extraordinary contribution in education[34] Anand Kumar was honored by ministry of education of Saxony of Germany.[35]

Kumar presented his biography to the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, which was written by Canada-based psychiatrist Biju Mathew.[36] Anand Kumar was awarded "Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award" by the president of India Ram Nath Kovind.[37]

Controversy

On July 23, 2018, reports surfaced in newspaper Dainik Jagran accusing Anand Kumar of deceit to gain publicity. The report cited his ex-students' allegations that Anand Kumar made a misleading claim this year that 26 out of his 30 students cleared the IIT JEE exam, when infact only three students from Super-30 batch could qualify for in the JEE Advanced Exam.[38] The report also mentioned that students who came looking to get enrolled in Super 30 were pushed to enroll in another coaching center called Ramanuj Institute, a for-profit institution, on the pretext that they will be coached by Anand Kumar if their performance is good. It is being alleged that by asking IIT aspirants to enroll in Ramanuj Insitute, Kumar made over Rs 1 crore annually.[38]

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav spoke in the favour of Anand Kumar and said that "propaganda is being run in media influenced by feudal mindset to discredit and defame Anand Kumar". Union Cabinet Minister Shatrughan Sinha has also spoken in Kumar's favour on Twitter.[39]

Bollywood Director Vikas Bahl will be casting Hrithik Roshan in his upcoming film titled "Super 30". The film is based on the life and works of Anand Kumar.[40]

The makers of upcoming film Super 30 have decided to not call their film a biopic anymore after it came out that Kumar is facing charges of fraud.[41]

Kumar has also appeared on popular Indian television game show Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2017 as a special guest. He won Rs 25 lakh answering seven questions.[42][43]

References

  1. 1 2 "IRDS Awards 2010".
  2. 1 2 "Bihar honours Super 30 founder with top award". The Times Of India.
  3. ↑ "JEE Advanced result 2017: It is 30/30 for Anand Kumar's Super 30". Hindustan Times. 12 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Chaudhary, Pranava K (14 Mar 2009). "Discovery to showcase Super-30 today". The Times of India.
  5. ↑ "Living the vilayat dream at home - Teacher who failed to study abroad coaches students to do so". The Telegraph. 22 February 2005.
  6. ↑ Tewary, Amarnath (21 September 2006). "Helping poor Indians crack toughest test". BBC News.
  7. ↑ "Super 30 does it again: 28 of its students crack JEE Advanced". Hindustan Times. 12 June 2016.
  8. ↑ "Super 30 founder Anand Kumar invited to speak at MIT and Harvard". The Economic Times India. 29 Sep 2014.
  9. ↑ http://getahead.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/15/meet-anand-kumar-of-super-30.htm
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "He trains India's poorest students for the IIT". Careers360. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  11. 1 2 "Super 30 Founder Anand Kumar, a Mathematician on a Mission". Success Stories. 28 May 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Sengupta, Uttam (14 June 2009). "Genius at work". The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Mr. Cent Per Cent". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 14 November 2009.
  14. 1 2 Kumar, Abhay. "'I am planning expansion of Super 30'". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  15. ↑ Patna, PTI. "JEE advance result: Anand Kumar's Super 30 wins laurels again, 27 out of 30 qualify for IITs'". Financial Express. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Super 30's super record in IIT-JEE". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  17. ↑ "JEE Advanced 2017 Results". Patna, India: NDTV. 17 June 2017.
  18. ↑ "26 students from Anand Kumar's Super 30 academy crack IIT-JEE". Patna, India: TOI. 10 June 2018.
  19. ↑ "100/100 for Super 30 in IIT-JEE". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
  20. ↑ "Use skills to ensure country's growth: Super30 founder to IIT students". Economics Times. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  21. ↑ "Super 30 goes global: Bihar mathematician Anand Kumar gets a heroes welcome in Tokyo". Mail On line India. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  22. ↑ "Anand focus on teachers for excellence". The Telegraph. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  23. ↑ "Kumar of Super-30 finds place in Limca Book". Times of India. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  24. ↑ "Obama's special envoy hails Super 30". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  25. ↑ "Super-30-incredible-says-Newsweek". The Times Of India. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  26. ↑ "Super 30 founder is Europe journal's global personality". Hindu Business Line. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  27. ↑ "Big B gets teaching tips from Super 30's Anand". The Times of India. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  28. ↑ "Bollywood movie on Bihar's Super-30 on cards". The Times of India. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011. .
  29. ↑ "Math wizard Anand Kumar in list of world's 20 top teachers". Indian Express. 4 Dec 2011.
  30. ↑ "Bihar's Super 30 coaching idea wins high praise in Canada". The Times of India. 21 Feb 2012.
  31. ↑ "Founder of 'Super-30' programme Anand Kumar honoured". The Economic Times. 21 July 2012.
  32. ↑ "Anand Kumar, Founder of Super30 Classes, Gets Ramanujan Mathematics Award". Indiatimes. 29 January 2014.
  33. ↑ "Honorary doctorate conferred on 'Super 30' founder". The Times of India. 14 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "ANAND KUMAR FOUNDER OF 'SUPER 30′ AWARDED MAHARISHI VED VYAS NATIONAL AWARD". Dreamiit. 17 August 2015.
  35. ↑ "Super 30 founding mathematician honoured in Germany". Economics Times. 1 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "Mukherjee lauds Anand Kumar's work". Business Standard. 10 June 2016.
  37. ↑ "Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award presented to Super-30 founder". Hindu. 15 November 2017.
  38. 1 2 "Patna's Super 30 mentor Anand Kumar accused of deceit to gain popularity". India Today. 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  39. ↑ "Super 30 mentor Anand Kumar gets support from Tejashwi Yadav, Shatrughan Sinha amid charges of fabrication". The Financial Express. 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  40. ↑ "Confirmed! Hrithik Roshan is playing mathematician Anand Kumar in Vikas Bahl's Super 30". The Indian Express. 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  41. ↑ "Super 30' Makers Left Red-Faced As Anand Kumar Faces Charges Of Fraud". MoviesTalkies.com. 2018-08-04. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  42. ↑ "Super 30 founder Anand Kumar's KBC appearance draws lakhs of viewers". 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  43. ↑ "Kaun Banega Crorepati season 9: Episode featuring Super 30 founder Anand Kumar tops TRP chart- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
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