New Delhi: The Modi government is looking to partner with Anand Kumar of Super 30 fame to bring premier IIT coaching to students from the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources in the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, which is tasked with ensuring the welfare of marginalised communities, the proposal was discussed at a meeting Tuesday between ministry officials and Kumar.
The initiative, a senior government official said, will be funded by the ministry. It envisages the setting up of an online coaching programme that can be accessed for free by up to 2,000 “bright” SC and OBC students every year.
“At the meeting, Anand Kumar pledged support to improving the academic outcomes of the disadvantaged sections of society, in particular, SC students. Final talks will happen soon,” the official added.
Discussions at the meeting, the officials added, helped them draw up a plan to take the scheme forward.
The existing free coaching scheme of the government, sources said, will be tweaked to provide for online coaching by “Centres of Excellence like Super 30”.
“About 25 schools that are getting grant-in-aid from the department will be selected and linked with the mentorship and coaching of Super 30,” the aforementioned official said.
A second official added, “Under this, at least 2,000 bright students from SC and OBC categories can be selected, and can also be provided with a laptop/tab to access the online lessons easily.”
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‘Simplifying concepts’
Kumar, a mathematician, is the brain behind a successful and globally-feted programme that provides free IIT entrance coaching for 30 meritorious students from the poorest families every year. His students are known to have a high success rate in cracking the IIT entrance exam, with all 30 acing the JEE (Advanced) in 2017, 28 in 2016, and 26 in 2018.
As part of his partnership with the government to widen his canvas, Kumar will also look at the possibility of setting up a residential school in Greater Noida for “bright children from the disadvantaged socio-economic background”, the first official mentioned above said.
“The Social Justice Department will support such a venture. The details of the partnership will be worked out in the next one month,” the official added.
Super 30, the official said, will also develop a “package” to clarify crucial concepts so that students from disadvantaged sections can match up with their classmates without difficulty.
“This mentorship will help in reducing the adjustment problems that many SC students have faced in the recent past, even in premier institutions like the IITs,” the official added.
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