He is a miracle India might as well, not do without…
Son of a clerk in the Postal Department who could not afford to give ‘excellent’ education to his children, Anand Kumar studied in a Hindi-medium government school in Patna. He developed an interest in and an aptitude for Mathematics during his school-years. While pursuing his graduation itself, his papers were published in reputed journals for Mathematics. He secured admission to the Cambridge University but could not make it, due to lack of funds to buy the ticket.
He could not make it to Cambridge, but today, the whole world seeks to come at his doorstep, to meet him and simply know how is he transforming the future of India, with his sheer brilliance in Mathematics and his sincere passion for teaching.
At the age of 19, he rented a classroom for Rs 500/- and started his own Ramanujan School of Mathematics. Nobody could have offered more apt a tribute to the great Ramanujan. Within three years, more than 500 students had enrolled.
In 2000, when a poor student who could not afford to pay the fee came to him, seeking coaching to gain admission into the IIT, the idea of SUPER-30, was born. There has been no looking back since then. His Super-30 programme started in 2002, and by 2015, 333 out of 390 students he coached, had made it to the IITs. Time Magazine has selected mathematician Anand Kumar's school - Super 30 - in the list of Best of Asia 2010. Newsweek Magazine has included Super 30 in the list of four most innovative schools in the world.
He annually selects, through an examination, thirty children from the poorest regions and families of our country. He coaches them extensively and prepares them for one of the toughest ever exam globally; gives them study materials and lodging with him, while his mother cooks meals for the chosen thirty children and together, with the support of his other family members and friends, he steers them towards clearing the IIT-JEE. The coaching is intense, and the hard work put in by this teacher and his Super 30 students is stupendous.
Students whom he selects come from schools wherein there is sometimes no teaching or teachers; from schools which have no windows or benches. Students whom he coaches are those who have seen poverty and hardships but have not let their zeal be dimmed.
Awards, Recognition and Praise have been showered on him relentlessly. He has been interviewed globally; written about and featured in documentaries globally; and has won laurels and awards from all over the world.
He could have minted money at an enviable rate. He could have amassed assets, beyond any teacher’s comprehension. He could have lived life king-size; he could have intoxicated himself with success. He could have marketed himself aggressively. He could have indulged in self-aggrandisement, and he every bit had the right and opportunity to do all of the above.
However, he did nothing of the above.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Discovery and Al Jazeera Channels and many more have had the honour of hearing him talk or of knowing more about him and his work. Now, it’s the turn of Kuwait!!!
Invited by the Maurya Kala Parisar as the Chief Guest on the occasion of the Association’s twentieth-year celebrations, Anand Kumar was here in Kuwait this week. Following are the excerpts of a tete-a-tete Navniit Gandhi had with Anand Kumar, exclusively for and by Indiansinkuwait.com:
Navniit Gandhi: It is a pleasure; a sheer honour to be conversing with someone who has given to this nation and to this society—Hope. There is hope, and now, a firm belief that even without infrastructure and means whatsoever, even those from the poorest strata of society, can make it to the IITs.. Welcome, Anand ji to Kuwait.
How was the first phase of your journey from a Hindi-medium school to securing admission to the Cambridge University?
Anand Kumar: The journey was good. At first, we were enrolled in a good convent school in our area, but because we were so poor that we could not afford paying the fee or buying the uniform and meeting other requirements for long, we were shifted to a simple government school. To our good luck, however, we got some very good teachers there. I started taking keen interest in science; started making scientific models and taking part in inter-school competitions…
My Math teachers in school as well college encouraged me to think innovatively; solve problems using new ideas—so much so that I was guided by them to even contribute to reputed Mathematical journals, wherein my papers were published. I even got an admission letter from the Cambridge University.
NG: What did you feel when you could not go to Cambridge? Regret? Remorse? Anger at your circumstances? Or, casual acceptance of the reality?
AK: Of course, I felt very bad. We did not have the money for the fare to Cambridge. More than me, my father was very hurt… He regretted it a lot and suffered remorse within… And as a result, he passed away very soon. His death was a sudden and an unexpected blow for us all. For me, it was a twin tragedy: the pain of not being able to go to Cambridge and the pain of losing my father. Losing my father was by far, the greatest loss for me.
NG: Why did you not pursue your higher studies?
AK: We have seen a lot of hardships all throughout our lives. The death of my father was a turning point in my life. He had borrowed money to build a house post-retirement. Hence, instead of Father’s pension assisting my mother, we had to face the burden of repaying the debt. My mother started making ‘papads’ at home, which I would sell door-to-door in the evenings.
Studying further was beyond our comprehension. I could not pursue a Masters’ Degree in Mathematics. It was just not possible to think of studying when the circumstances were so dire. I was offered a job in the Postal Department and many people pressurised me to take it up, but my heart was not into it. Instead, I took a few students and started teaching them Math.
Later, during my four visits to the US, I was encouraged by many of the Professors in American Universities to shift base to the US. I was in a dilemma. I could have pursued my Ph.D there but by then I had started teaching students and was attached emotionally with them too. Finally, I decided to focus entirely on my students here. However, I used to study on my own and keep myself updated with the advancements in my subject.
NG: What is your basic attitude to hardships in life?
AK: I used to get scared and unnerved earlier… Gradually, life teaches all the important lessons. For me, even my students who face greater hardship than me, have taught me quite a bit. I have seen dreams coming true, with sheer hard work and determination. I have also learnt that problems always remain; they just assume a different form. Just as energy always exists—it may take the form of heat or become light, but it is right there always. One must therefore know that struggles with problems will always remain.
NG: Was support from your family always unconditional?
AK: Yes, I have been tremendously lucky in this respect. My brother’s support has been unconditional always. Even my mother’s support has been very strong. My wife is an IIT graduate and was working in Bangalore as a Software Engineer. On her own account, she decided to join me in our Super 30. Within a year, we propose to increase our strength to 50 students.
NG: You started your Ramanujan School of Mathematics and then the idea of Super-30 took form. How did all this happen?
AK: I was coaching a few students for the sake of my survival, and then one day decided to rent a small room for 500 rupees, and thus the Ramanujan School of Mathematics began. Very soon, we had five hundred students in our school. One day, a poor student came to us who was the son of a daily labourer and wanted to study but neither had a place to stay in Patna and nor could pay the fee. Then, the idea of Super 30 was born—we decided to bring together enthusiastic learners from the poorest strata of society and offer them boarding and lodging with us and train them for JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) to get into the IITs.
NG: Is it easy or difficult to find 30 students every year from impoverished families who have a zeal for higher learning?
AK: Yes, it is very difficult to find such students who have that zeal to study and have not dropped out while still in school… Many children who belong to poor families, drop out early from school and we now therefore plan to reach out to them while they are still in 5th or 6th standard and coach them from that young age onwards.
NG: To run a program successfully, besides sincerity and hard work, one needs money and motivation. How do you manage it all financially?
AK: I teach other students in the evening too, and from there we manage our expenses. I do not accept any aid or donation from anyone.
NG: After getting into IIT, how do they manage the expenses thereafter?
AK: It is often very difficult. Sometimes, they can’t pay the Counselling Fee because of which they can’t get the Admission letter and unless they have that letter, no Bank gives the loan to them. Recently, four of our students selected in various IITs did not have money to pay the counselling fee. They needed 30.000 rupees each. We contacted NDTV and they aired this on their channel. Within half an hour, 1.5 lakh rupees were garnered. With everyone’s good wishes and blessings, things somehow move smoothly.
NG: While coaching the students, do you have to play several roles? Do you listen to their personal or family problems? Or you tell them to just focus on academics and bury the personal problems?
AK: Yes, of course… I have to be their parent at times, or a counsellor or a friend. They come from adverse situations and they have seen a lot of hardship. Sometimes, there is a death in the family or there is indebtedness or a police case or someone who is terminally ill… I have to speak with the Police or the Doctors or others, to try and get their issues resolved so that the child can focus on his studies.
For instance, the father of one of my students was an auto-rickshaw driver and he got arrested for alleged wrong parking. He could not pay any bribe, and hence was mercilessly beaten up by the police. In a critical condition he was admitted in the hospital. My student quit studying, with a vow to take revenge and then return. In this case, it took a lot of time and energy to dissuade him from his agenda and bring him back to books. He eventually cleared JEE, graduated from IIT and then also cleared CAT and post graduated from IIM.
There was another student—a labourer’s son whose younger brother was suffering from a grave illness and due to sheer poverty, they could not save him. He died and my student suffered from a breakdown which lasted for months… During that period we tried as much as we could to talk daily with him, counsel him, give him a special diet etc. Today, he is studying in IIT.
NG: Do you feel any pressure that the whole world is watching you or expecting you to perform, when you select your Super 30?
AK: No, there is no pressure at all. I am confident that all of them will get selected in the IITs or in NIT or in a good Engineering college and those getting into IITs will surely be above 20. I see them work hard and that gives the confidence. The day I do not teach well or they stop working hard, the pressure will start building. I teach for six hours and they put in 12 hours of sincere study.
NG: Is it true that you do not accept donations/financial help from the government or corporate bodies?
AK: Yes, I do not accept donations or financial assistance from anyone. I teach other students from whom I charge minimally and from those earnings, I run my Super 30 program. Offers have been many but I wish to prove that we don’t need money; just the will power will see us through. I want to prove the importance of hard work and sincere efforts. However, you are welcome to come and visit us—and maybe treat the children with good food or buy someone a sweater or a notebook.
NG: However, there must have surely been instances when some entity tried to entice you or lure you into their fold?
AK: Many offers and many threats have I received. There were offers to start a plush coaching centre in Kota; there have been multiple criminal attacks on me and my associates by the coaching mafia in Bihar. Many big and reputed corporate entities have offered me donations and financial assistance. However, I have politely refused them all.
NG: As a teacher, do you expect anything in return from your students when they graduate from IIts? Gratitude or Acknowledgement?
AK: When I started coaching them for the IITs, there was no expectation from them—that they ought to do something for the society or the nation. The spirit of doing something for the society and for the nation has gradually taken birth amongst them. Today, many of them themselves feel like emulating me or teaching the under-privileged or they come back to give books to our poor children or care for them in some other way.
However, we do make them take a pledge that they shall never demand dowry while getting married and that they shall never abandon their parents. We also insist that as long as they are studying in IITs, they must come and visit us during their holidays, meet the current students and inspire them. We understand that they become busy after securing placements.
NG: Our academic institutions and education systems—all is not rosy with them. There are serious flaws and weaknesses. How do you keep going amidst this grim scenario?
AK: I see a gradual change coming in the society. Earlier, one often found people falling at the feet of their MLA or MP, for securing a job for their son or relative… Today, there is anguish expressed at the state of affairs. People have begun to question their Netas that why there are no teachers in the school or why are there no doors and benches in schools or why is the mid-day meal not being served regularly… The awareness amongst the people is the hope. Change will happen… it is imminent.
People in India have begun to dream. Even a poor farmer or a hawker or a cart-puller wants his or her child to study well and make it big. They also dream of seeing their children become doctors or IAS officers. This awareness; these dreams will bring the change.
NG: Looking at the kind of teachers and learners all around, what do you foresee?
AK: There is a shortage of good, dedicated and sincere teachers, not only in India but globally. Quality of education therefore suffers… We need teachers who can truly explain; who can experiment and go to the depth of problems. There are two reasons for this state of affairs: One, our governments do not pay much attention to this profession. For instance, just as there is an Administrative and a Foreign Service, there should be examinations for a specialised Teaching Service. Second, our society also does not hold the teachers on a high pedestal. Every parent wants his child to get good teachers so that he can become a successful doctor or engineer but how many parents want their child to become a teacher?
We need an exclusive policy or department to focus on how to attract the intelligent and enthusiastic youth in the country towards this profession. And, teachers too must know that if they teach well—they will get the respect due to them. I am a nobody but my students do say that they want to be like their ‘Anand Sir’… (laughs…)
NG: Would you like to say something to the student community here in Kuwait?
AK: I would like to tell the young students in Kuwait that please visit our website and read about your other fellow students in India, who despite the hardships, reach their goals. You must know that you are very privileged… Take advantage of all that you have been blessed with. And, never adopt rote learning. Get into the hows and whys of everything you study.
I have a Four-Point Formula to share with them:
Tremendous Thirst: You need to have that thirst in you… Day and night, the thirst should grip you and you will be able to do what you want to do.
Positive Thinking: Do not have negativity in your thoughts—that you cant do this or that; that this may not happen… Everything is possible.
Continuous Hardwork: Work hard continuously; do not get tired. You do not know the levels of energy that lie within you. Ask the old folks around you as to how much they miss the levels of energy which you possess. The secret of Super 30’s success is sheer hard work.
Tremendous Patience: This is the most important. Even when there is darkness around, it is important to be patient and to hold on… DO not give up. Have patience. Solutions to all problems—mathematical or otherwise, will come with perseverance.
Most important and above all, is do not get disappointed, NEVER. Let what come your way, stand tall and do not get disappointed.
NG: On behalf of all of us here in Kuwait, we at IIK.Com offer you our best wishes and loads of luck in all that you choose to do in your life ahead. We are, indeed, proud of you!!!