8/26/2014 Anand Kumar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Kumar 1/4
Anand Kumar
Born 1 January 1973
Patna, Bihar
Nationality Indian
Occupation Educationalist, Mathematician
Known for Super 30
Website
Super 30, Official website
(http://www.super30.org/)
Anand Kumar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anand Kumar (born 1 January 1973) is an Indian
mathematician 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 2014, 308 of the 360 had made it
to IITs and Discovery Channel showcased his work in a
documentary.
[1][2][3]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Teaching career and Super 30
3 Recognition
4 References
5 External links
Early life
Anand Kumar was born in Patna, Bihar. His father was a post office clerk in Bihar. 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.
[4][5]
During graduation, Kumar submitted papers on Number Theory, which
were published in Mathematical Spectrum and The Mathematical Gazette.
[4]
Anand secured admission to Cambridge University, but could not attend because of his father's death and his
financial condition,
[4][6][7]
even after looking for sponsor in 1994-1995, both in Patna and Delhi.
[8]
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.
[4][7]
He also tutored students in maths to earn
extra money.
[7]
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. Thus he would spend Saturday and Sunday at the Central Library, BHU and return
to Patna on Monday morning.
[6]
Teaching career and Super 30
8/26/2014 Anand Kumar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Kumar 2/4
In 1992, Kumar began teaching Mathematics.
[4][5]
He rented a classroom for Rs 500 a month, and began his
own institute, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics (RSM).
[4][9]
Within the space of year, his class grew from
two students to thirty-six, and after three years there were almost 500 students enrolled.
[4]
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.
[4][7][8]
Every year in May, since 2002, the Ramanujan School of Mathematics holds a competitive test to select 30
students for the Super 30 scheme. 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.
[4]
He prepares them for the Joint Entrance Examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). His
mother, Jayanti Devi, cooks for the students,
[7]
and his brother Pranav Kumar takes care of the management.
[4]
During 2003-2014, 308 students out of 360 have made it to the IITs.).
[4][10]
In 2010, all the students of Super
30 cleared IIT JEE entrance making it a three in a row for the institution.
[11]
Anand 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 Ramanujam Institute.
[8]
After the success of Super 30 and its growing popularity, he got many offers
from the private 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.
[8]
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 and in 2014, 27 of the 30 students cleared the prestigious IIT JEE examination. Anand
Kumar does not accept donation 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,
[1][6][12]
and half a
page has been devoted to Kumar in The New York Times.
[6]
Actress and ex-Miss Japan Norika Fujiwara
visited Patna to make a documentary on Anands initiatives.
[9]
Kumar has been featured in programmes by the
BBC.
[6]
He has spoken about his experiences at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.
[6]
Kumar is in the
Limca Book of Records (2009) for his contribution in helping poor students crack IIT-JEE by providing them
free coaching.
[13]
Time Magazine has selected mathematician Anand Kumar's school - Super 30 - in the list of
Best of Asia 2010. Anand Kumar was awarded the S. Ramanujan Award for 2010 by the Institute for
Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) in July 2010.
[14]
Super 30 received praise from United States President Barack Obama's special envoy Rashad Hussain, who
termed it the "best" institute in the country.
[15]
Newsweek Magazine has taken note of the initiative of
mathematician Anand Kumars Super 30 and included his school in the list of four most innovative schools in the
world.
[16]
Anand Kumar has been awarded by top award of Bihar government "Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
Shiksha Puraskar" November 2010.
[17]
He was awarded the Prof Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar 2010
by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bangalore.
In April 2011, Anand Kumar was selected by Europe's magazine Focus as "one of the global personalities who
have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people."
[18]
Anand Kumar also helped Amitabh Bachchan in
preparing for his role in the film Aarakshan.
[19]
Many people from Bollywood including renowned directors and
8/26/2014 Anand Kumar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Kumar 3/4
producers are interested in making a movie on the life of Anand Kumar.
[20]
Anand Kumar has been selected by
UK based magazine Monocle among the list of 20 pioneering teachers of the world.
[21]
He was also honoured
by government of British Columbia, Canada.
[22]
Anand Kumar has been awarded by 'Baroda Sun Life
Achievement Award' by Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.
[23]
Anand Kumar was conferred this year's prestigious
Ramanujan Mathematics Award at the Eighth National Mathematics Convention at function in Rajkot.
[24]
References
1. ^
a

b
Chaudhary, Pranava K (14 Mar 2009). "Discovery to showcase Super-30 today"
(http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-03-14/patna/28000386_1_crack-iit-jee-super-30-discovery-
communications-india). The Times of India.
2. ^ "Living the vilayat dream at home - Teacher who failed to study abroad coaches students to do so"
(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050222/asp/frontpage/story_4407084.asp). The Telegraph. 22 February
2005.
3. ^ Tewary, Amarnath (21 September 2006). "Helping poor Indians crack toughest test"
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5345100.stm). BBC News.
4. ^
a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

k
"He trains India's poorest students for the IIT"
(http://getahead.rediff.com/report/2009/dec/15/meet-anand-kumar-of-super-30.htm). Careers360. 15 December
2009. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
5. ^
a

b
"Super 30 Founder Anand Kumar, a Mathematician on a Mission" (http://www.successstories.co.in/super-
30-founder-anand-kumar-a-mathematician-on-a-mission/). Success Stories. 28 May 2012.
6. ^
a

b

c

d

e

f
Sengupta, Uttam (14 June 2009). "Genius at work"
(http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090614/spectrum/main2.htm). The Sunday Tribune. Retrieved 2009-07-
11.
7. ^
a

b

c

d

e
Chopra, Anuj (25 July 2009). "India's school for the poor but gifted"
(http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090725/FOREIGN/707249814/1103/NEWS). The
National. Abu Dhabi Media Company.
8. ^
a

b

c

d
"Mr. Cent Per Cent" (http://www.thehindu.com/arts/article48693.ece). Chennai, India: The Hindu. 14
November 2009.
9. ^
a

b
Kumar, Abhay. "'I am planning expansion of Super 30' " (http://www.deccanherald.com/content/6677/i-
am-planning-expansion-super.html). Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
10. ^ Patna, PTI. "JEE advance result: Anand Kumar's Super 30 wins laurels again, 27 out of 30 qualify for IITs' "
(http://www.financialexpress.com/news/jee-advance-result-anand-kumars-super-30-wins-laurels-again-27-out-
of-30-qualify-for-iits/1262305). Financial Express. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
11. ^ "Super 30's super record in IIT-JEE" (http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/college-and-
university/article438654.ece). Chennai, India: The Hindu. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
12. ^ "100/100 for Super 30 in IIT-JEE" (http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/26/stories/2009052655010700.htm). The
Hindu (Chennai, India). 26 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
13. ^ "Kumar of Super-30 finds place in Limca Book" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-09-
15/patna/28082404_1_super-30-mathematician-anand-kumar-iit-jee). Times of India. 15 September 2009.
Retrieved 2009-12-18.
14. ^ "IRDS Awards 2010" (http://irdsindia.com/IRDS%20Awards%20Details.htm).
8/26/2014 Anand Kumar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_Kumar 4/4
15. ^ "Obama's special envoy hails Super 30" (http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-
states/article559325.ece?homepage=true). Chennai, India: The Hindu. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
16. ^ "Super-30-incredible-says-Newsweek" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-09-
19/patna/28249959_1_super-30-iit-jee-ramanujam-school). The Times Of India. 19 September 2010. Retrieved
2010-09-25.
17. ^ "Bihar honours Super 30 founder with top award" (http://biharfoundation.in/bihar-honours-super-30-founder-
with-top-award/2010/). The Times Of India.
18. ^ "Super 30 founder is Europe journal's global personality" (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-
paper/tp-others/tp-states/article1713341.ece). Hindu Business Line. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
19. ^ "Big B gets teaching tips from Super 30's Anand" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-
31/india/29835189_1_saif-ali-khan-super-30-s-anand-aarakshan). The Times of India. 31 July 2011. Retrieved
31 July 2011.
20. ^ "Bollywood movie on Bihar's Super-30 on cards" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-
23/patna/30432905_1_super-30-anand-kumar-iit-jee). The Times of India. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23
November 2011..
21. ^ "Math wizard Anand Kumar in list of world's 20 top teachers" (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/math-
wizard-anand-kumar-in-list-of-worlds-20-top-teachers/884028/). Indian Express. 4 Dec 2011.
22. ^ "Bihar's Super 30 coaching idea wins high praise in Canada" (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-
02-21/india/31082619_1_iit-jee-technology-joint-entrance-examination-bihar-s-super). The Times of India. 21
Feb 2012.
23. ^ "Founder of 'Super-30' programme Anand Kumar honoured"
(http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-21/news/32776828_1_anand-kumar-super-30-
programme). The Economic Times. 21 July 2012.
24. ^ "Anand Kumar, Founder of Super30 Classes, Gets Ramanujan Mathematics Award"
(http://www.indiatimes.com/news/more-from-india/anand-kumar-founder-of-super30-classes-gets-ramanujan-
mathematics-award-125478.html). Indiatimes. 29 January 2014.
External links
Super 30, Official website (http://www.super30.org/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anand_Kumar&oldid=615027847"
Categories: People from Patna Indian educators 1973 births Living people Indian mathematicians
Indian columnists
This page was last modified on 30 June 2014 at 15:19.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.