Dhananjay, Sujit, Prem, Sharawan have cracked the IIT exam
Dhananjay Kumar, 18, made it to the IITs with lots of hard work and some luck, studying at Patna's famous Super 30 coaching institute, a centre run by mathematician Anand Kumar, that provides free coaching to 30 students from poor families each year.
But Dhananjay cannot breathe easy just yet. In a small village in Samastipur, Dhananjay's parents run a shop and also work as labourers, earning about Rs 3,000 per month, hardly enough to feed a family of eight.
Dhananjay went to government schools and two years ago, got to know about Super 30 at a local tea stall. He then saved money for a few months to travel by train to Patna and meet Anand Kumar. He later appeared for a test and the rest is history.
But Dhananjay needs 45,000 rupees as counselling and seat acceptance fees for studying electrical engineering at IIT Kharagpur. "The banks will give me a loan only once I give them an admission letter. But that's for later. I am worried about the immediate need for 45,000 rupees, as the counselling is only till the 12th of this month," says Dhananjay.
Sujit Kumar, 19, from Madhepura, Prem Pal from Nalanda and Sharawan from Sasaram, all sons of labourers, say they are facing similar problems in arranging the money.
In Patna, mathematician Anand Kumar says the poor need more support from the government to get into prestigious IITs. "The government needs to take tough decisions. Perhaps even abolish counselling fees for those who come from extremely poor families. The banks only give loans once admissions are done," says Mr Kumar.
Those who wish to help, can write to Mr Kumar at "mail@super30.org"