Anand Kumar

Teachers are the pillars who lay the foundation to a greater society by ensuring the citizens contribute in making the world a better place to live! The previous articles speak about teachers who are one of a kind however, they have one thing in common- passion towards teaching. One such pillar is Anand Kumar who is known for his Super 30 program.

“Teaching is neither a service nor a profession. It is but a pillar of the society. There are teachers who treat teaching as a part of their hearts and minds than just another profession”.

What makes Anand Kumar special is his simplicity and the intent to make children from impoverished and economically backward backgrounds, flourish.

Anand Kumar is an internationally acclaimed figure known for his unique ability to mold talented students. Anand Kumar was born and brewed in Patna. His father worked in the postal department and they strived hard for 2 meals a day.

Hindi medium school is all that his father could afford and not the private school education. Anand got through with Cambridge University entrance tests however due to his Father’s death, it was impossible to go ahead with the offer though he received sponsors for the same later.

Anand had a rough patch of life due to financial constraints that he worked on Mathematics during the day; he earned a little more in the evenings to help his Mother by tutoring students with mathematics and then selling home made papads. It was from Childhood, Anand was drawn to Mathematics!

With the room rent of Rs. 500, Anand began tutoring students with Mathematics in the year 1992.  The class strength shot up from two students to thirty-six in a year;

He named the Institute ‘Ramanujam School of Mathematics’. In three years, the student count had gone up to 500. The turning point of Anand’s life was when a talented student wanted to get through with IIT entrance exam but could not afford the admission fee! This always reminded Anand to do something miraculous to help such students in having a bright future.

In the year 2002 after a lot of planning, Anand began the Super-30 Program which made him a popular teacher. This program was about hand picking 30 economically backward students to post a test, for a year long training.

Anand provided them with free coaching and everything else that his students needed – food and shelter. His mother cooked for the kids and his brother handled the management. 391 of 450 students have cleared the IIT-JEE  in the last 15 years.

In 2017, 30 out of 30 students cleared the exam making Anand a proud teacher! Anand provided these facilities to Super-30 students and handled the expenses from the tuition fees of other courses.

He refused to accept funding from Government and Private institutions and believes in providing education with all his ability. A great person who finds shaping the future of aspiring kids as his reward.

Anand Kumar has been filmed in a documentary on Discovery channel. He has traveled to different top rated Universities like the Harvard, Stanford, Massachusetts, Tokyo, IIM-A, and several other IITs to deliver speeches.

Articles have been published about him in New York Times and News Week Magazine.  Anand has bagged many awards and set records; his achievements can be talked about for hours and the list goes on as long as river Nile.

Such is the greatness of Anand Kumar, the teacher who made our nation proud for his simplicity and service that renders bright future to talented students!