Photo of successful students from Super 30 institute in Patna
It was his first attempt, but Satvat Jagwani was confident that he would rank in the IIT Joint Entrance Exam (IIT JEE). He did even better. With an incredible 469 out of 504 marks, this 18-year-old has topped this year's exam.
The son of doctors from Madhya Pradesh, Satvat is among some 26,000 candidates who have cracked the entrance exam to the IIT or Indian Institute of Technology.
"I want to take up computer sciences at IIT Bombay. It's my dream destination. I am very happy," an elated Satvat told NDTV.
"My parents initially wanted me to be a doctor, but soon they realised I had it in me to be an engineer and they supported me all along," he shared. His coaching institute in Rajasthan's Kota now has a lot to boast about.
But an institute in Bihar's Patna is celebrating another year of a stupendous strike rate. At the famed Super 30 institute, 25 students have made it to the IIT.
The centre run by mathematician Anand Kumar provides free coaching to 30 students from poor backgrounds each year.
Among them are Rahul, the son of a migrant labourer from Jharkhand, and Neeraj, whose father works as a driver at a sugar mill in Kolkata. Both have scored high ranks and hope they will get to pick an IIT and a course of their choice.
Neeraj said, "I think the newer IITs need to invest more in infrastructure and also in the quality of professors." Most of the eight new IITs don't have adequate staff and infrastructure. They were established in 2008 to help reduce the burden on the seven older institutes.
There was a time Neeraj thought he would never make it to the IIT as his family could not afford expensive coaching.
"The IIT pattern is very confusing and there is a big gap between what is taught in schools and the IIT exam. And that's why students are forced to go to coaching institutes," said mathematician Anand Kumar, who runs the Super 30 institute.