There is no denying that education is an important and un-avoidable part of modern, human society. It is a human right, and access to education is essential for emancipation.
I recently came across a series of video documentaries on Super- 30, and education movement spearheaded by a certain Anand Kumar, who has helped thousands of Indian students change their lives. In order to do this, he has set his sights on the IITs, the highest institutions offering engineering education in India, and runs coaching centres to coach high school students to 'game' the IIT test system. Students who are able to 'crack' these tests get to join India's premium engineering colleges, paving their way to a well-paid job, and successful lives afterwards. Instead of being overambitious and enrolling as many students as he can, Anand had decided on training 30, and only 30 students any given year. These would be the smartest, brightest and most hardworking students from those who apply for his unique course. Hence the term: Super 30.
The first of the documentaries was filmed 10 years ago and uploaded in 2008. Al Jazeera, tracked and followed the daily lives of around 5 of the super-30 students, and vigorously documented the lives of everyone involved. Not only the students and their teacher, but also friends and family of the students, and even the local police officers. The life of the students and their teacher is clearly shown to be in ruins, Anand gives his daily maths class in something that looks like a remnant of a workshop, and the 30 lucky chosen are given special coaching in a similar, separate enclosure. The parents are farmers, daily wage labourers, or stay at home housewives. Their surroundings may be dim, but there is optimism in the air. There have been no engineers or doctors in their families so far, and everyone has placed their hopes on the one child who has been chosen into the Super-30.
The students give the test, the results are announced. 29 of the 30 clear the entrance to IITs across India.
Fast forward 10 years now. The second documentary tracks three of the students who were documented earlier, to try and chart their success and live afterwards. It is mind-blowing.
Not only are they all living better lives, they only have a faint resemblance to their former selves. They are healthier, wealthier , and wise.
One of them, Raju, the son of a farmer, is now a software engineer living and working in the tech city of India, Bengaluru. Working for the offices of an American automobile company at the time of the documentary, he now speaks English fluently (all the boys spoke only hindi in the earlier videos), and travels abroad for work. He himself seems surprised on how the education he received changed his fortunes.
Alok, son of a labourer, is now working as an electrical engineer in the nation's powergrid. He could not get into IIT, but wisely picked up a course from NIT. He had to move out of his hometown , as local goons began extorting money from his family, as the son had become and engineer.
Jyotish, another one of the students, is doing well, but in a different direction. He dropped out of IIT, and found his calling in Economics, where he has a PhD. He now teaches , and is happy and content to be contributing to his people and country.
But no one changed their lives around as much as Pranav Prince, who now works full time abroad as a; wait for it..; management consultant ! In the first videos 10 years ago, Pranav was the brightest of the 30, and had scored highest. He said his dream was to become a scientist, and open a research centre in India, on par with NASA. That could have been the naïve child in him talking, because he has now thrown research out of the window, having discovered the perennial money spinner that is blue-chip management. He had caused quite a scandal to Anand 10 years ago, when he attributed his success to the coaching of a rival institute, and almost shutdown the super-30 program.
Access to the nation's highest engineering program changed these lives. Hundreds of thousands of youngsters have a similar story to tell, and many more are still being written. It is an empowering story of how sheer determination, and perseverance can positively affect one's future. My own story is similar, though I never even tried to get into IIT.
The IITs of India today produce the world's top engineers, who then go on to work of multinational companies around the world, though that was not why the IITs were setup in the first place. They were created to produce engineers for the nation, who would help develop India' future. A lofty ,well intended goal. It’s a shame that most students who get enrolled there do not share that vision.
Nevertheless, this story proves that education is possibly the only path to better futures, and permanent emancipation. And that is the Indian dream.
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