Meet Padma Shri awardee Anand Kumar: From selling papads to teaching IIT aspirants
Anand Kumar, a mathematics educator from Bihar, rose from humble beginnings to receive the Padma Shri award for his work with the Super 30 program. The initiative provides free coaching to economically disadvantaged students to help them gain admission to India's top engineering institutes.
Why it matters
The story serves as an inspirational narrative regarding the power of education to overcome socioeconomic barriers in India.
He started his journey with only Rs 500 and two students in a tiny rented classroom in Patna, Bihar. A young mathematics enthusiast started teaching students with nothing but passion for numbers and power of education. Though there was no grand institute, no money and of course no guarantee of success. But it didn’t stop him from pursuing a noble cause.Years ago, what started as a teaching initiative eventually grew into Super 30, a programme that helped economically disadvantaged students prepare for admission to India’s prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).Meet Anand KumarMeet Anand Kumar whose journey began from a rented classroom costing Rs 500 a month to receiving a Padma Shri in 2023 for his professional achievement which didn’t come to him easily.
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