JOIN USLast year, all the 30 students of the coaching institute set up by Kumar in Patna cracked the IIT-JEE examination.
"Super 30 centre has a pass rate of 100 per cent. What makes that feat even more remarkable is that these students are the poorest of the poor who would otherwise never be able to afford full-time coaching," the Time magazine said.
The students need to pass a test to get into 'Super 30' and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour daily studies. Since 2003, 182 of a total 210 students have made it to the IITs.
The institute's founder Kumar who missed a chance to study at Cambridge for lack of money gives full scholarships, including room, boarding and travel to all the students in a batch of 30 students.
Expressing happiness over the recognition, Kumar said, "It is a pleasurable moment for us as 'Super 30' has become an example of what's possible when human potential is tapped."
Education is the only weapon for downtrodden and to rid themselves of poverty and social exploitation, he said.
The project has won the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who met Kumar in February to hear his plan to launch a national program for talented rural children.