Math teacher received Kelkar Yuva Puraskar in Bangalore helps students scale class barrier to IITs

At the valedictory function of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Patna-based, Anand Kumar has been felicitated, recognising his efforts in training students from economically backward families, to help them enter the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Anand has received the Prof Yashwant Rao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar, Rs50,000 cash prize, and a memento. “We selected Anand because we were impressed with his ‘Super 30’ mission through which he has been training students from economically backward classes, without charging them any fee,” said N Ravi Kumar, national secretary of the ABVP.

Anand himself hails from an economically backward family. The Mathematics graduate, despite an offer from Cambridge University to do his master’s in 1994, was not able to do so because of financial barriers.

“I decided to do something for the poor, and this led to the setting up of Ramanujam School of Mathematics (RSM). I did my master’s in Mathematics and along with that started training students. In the next five years, I wanted to increase the number of students who attempt IIT entrance through our school to 500,” asserted a confident Anand.

In 2003, he started training meritorious students from economically backward families. Since then, 152 students cracked the IIT entrance and got placed in various IITs across the country. In 2008, 30 students succeeded in cracking the IIT entrance exams.

Anand generates funds for his ‘Super 30’ by tutoring other school students. Now he plans to attract students from across the nation as well. “We are chalking out a plan for that,” he said. Besides the training, Anand also provides food and accommodation to poor students.