Bihar's Magadh Super 30 is helping young students realise their dreams

PATNA: Students from the places once known for Maoist activities have started cracking exams for admission in IITs and top engineering colleges of the country, thanks to the initiative taken by Magadh Super 30. Started in 2008 by former Bihar director general of police (DGP) Abhayanand with 13 students, including 2 girls, it has so far sent 29 students of the Maoist-hit areas to IITs, 40 to NITs and six to Maritime University Chennai.The coaching classes are conducted in an old rented 'dharmshala' at Dighi Talab in Gaya.
"It is my dream to become a software engineer," said Soni Reshmi (19), a second-year student of National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim. "Under the guidance of my teachers at Magadh Super 30, I could reach here," she told TOI over the phone from Sikkim. Soni was born and brought up at Barwadi under the Dumaria police station area, a Maoist-hit locality around 135km away from Gaya.
It was in 2009 when Maoists had bombarded a police station near her home in broad daylight. "It was the most difficult time for our family. My seniors at Navodaya Vidyalaya Jetiyan under the Atri police station of the district informed me about the coaching classes at Magadh Super 30 for meritorious students from underprivileged sections of the society. I cleared the entrance exam and studied there from 2014-16. I want to get a good job in a company and support my family," Soni said.
Similar is the case of Ashwini Kumar Gunjan of Lutua village under the Imamganj police station area. Despite coming from a Maoist-affected area, his sharp mind and hard work landed him in NIT Jamshedpur. The area was unpopular because of Sandeep Yadav, a top Maoist leader wanted by the police of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odissa.
Vishwesh Bhatt, who passed out from NIT Sikkim in 2016 and is employed with the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited in Gangtok (Sikkim), said, "My family is stable because of this coaching institute. I want to give something back to this institute."
Abhayanand, a retired 1977 batch IPS officer, said the institute has four teachers from Gaya. "A teacher from Patna's Rahmani 30 or Abhayanand 30 travels to Gaya once a week to teach the students. I also visit Gaya once a month. Sometimes, I teach them through the telephone. The students are selected through entrance exam and interview. Good people provide us with financial assistance and all funds are put to social audit. The monetary assistance helps us arrange for food, lodging and study materials of the students," he said.
"The situation was quite bleak in the region. An atmosphere of fear pervaded in the area because of Maoist violence, which was at its peak in the 1990s. These kids also know that only education can improve their family conditions. We only provide them a platform to recognize their capabilities," said Abhayanand, who conceptualized Super 30, which includes Abhayanand Super 30 in Patna, Magadh Super 30 in Gaya, Rahmani 30 for Muslim children in Patna, Sangam Super 15 in Rajasthan, among others.