By Majaz Hoda,
“Incredible Institution”— Bill Gates (MS Corp.)
“One of the best systems in the world” – John Chamber (CISCO).
“World Treasure” – Jeff Bezos (Amazon.com).
“IIT=Harvard+MIT+Princeton” – Leslie Stahl (Co-host of CBS’60 minutes).
These are the terms used by well known gentlemen to describe Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). IITs, which command great respect in the world, were created to train scientists and engineers, with the aim of developing a skilled workforce to support the economic and social development of India after independence in 1947.
World fame IITs
The IITs have long had a reputation of being among the very best engineering institutions in the world. Entrance to these world famous institutes is through Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE).The JEE is probably the most demanding undergraduate entrance exam in the world. Harvard accepts only 10% of its applicants whereas IITs accept only 2.5%. Around 3.95 lakh students appeared for the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) on 12th April 2009, an increase of 0.84 lakh from the previous year.
The 2010 batch of Rahmani 30 who cracked IIT-JEE
High rejection rate has not deterred students in taking shot at IIT-JEE. Coaching institutes have mushroomed all over the country to prepare students for this examination. These institutes have acquired the status of a big industry. Rough estimate put this industry worth Rs 10,000 crores. These institutes charge hefty fees with some charging as much as Rs 1.5 lakh from the students to prepare for this course. In this highly commercialised world poor meritorious students end up as losers.
The man called Abhayanand
Mr. Abhayanand (ADGP) brought smiles on the faces of those unprivileged students who could not realise their IIT dream just because of lack of money by introducing concept of “Super 30”. Super 30 picked up poor meritorious students from the remote corners of Bihar. They were brought to Patna, provided food, lodging and coaching under one roof—free of cost. The intensive course lasted seven months. When the entrance results for 2003 were announced, 18 of the 30 had made it. The experiment was successful. This concept had dispelled the notion that only those attending expensive coaching institutes and living in big cities could make it to the IITs. After achieving success rate of 100% in 2008, Abhayanand thought of implementing this concept among other weaker sections of society.
Birth of Rahmani-30
Rahmani-30 came into existence in July 2008 after Abahyanand consented to guide Muslim students under the management of Rahmani Foundation, Munger. The entrance test for Rahmani-30 was held in 13 cities of Bihar on 20th July 2008. Thousands of Muslim students appeared in the test. After written test and personal interviews, 16 students were finally selected. Only 10 out of 16 chose to continue the course.
The 2009 batch of Rahmani 30 who cracked IIT-JEE
Success mantra
Inspired by this noble initiative, many teachers offered to volunteer. Millat Educational Trust offered its building for this purpose. Classes started on 10th Aug 2008 for the first batch of Rahmani-30. All the students were shaped into one unit to achieve one goal. They were provided with all the amenities necessary to help them in studies. Students worked hard under the watchful eyes of Abhayanand and teachers. Apart from few minor hiccups all went as per plan. Students were put under rigorous test series for last 3 months of the course to make them perform under pressure. Keeping them under one roof helped them immensely as they were ready to help each other with problems round the clock. They were encouraged to have group discussion whenever they encountered problems in any subject. Other factor which helped them in achieving this unprecedented success was that they were kept away from all the distractions. Guardians also cooperated and kept contacts with students to the minimum. While preparing to become a successful IIT Engineer they were also working hard to become a true Muslim. Regular Salat were part of daily routine. They were also reminded about the Golden Period of Islam and discoveries made by renowned Muslim scientists. All the Rahmani-30 support staffs were ever willing to help these students all the time so that they can spend most of the time on studies.
Success came calling
On the day of IIT-JEE examination, all the students were not showing any sign of nervousness as numerous test series had made them well prepared. All the students had discussion with Abhayanand ji and teacher in the evening. Mood was upbeat in the evening of 12th April.
Maulana Wali Rahmani, Abhayanand and others in happy mood after 2009 results
Then came the 25th May 2009, hard work of Abhayanand, teachers and students was rewarded and all the 10 students of Rahmani-30 had cleared the IIT-JEE with flying colours. Within minutes of declaration of IIIT-JEE result, Rahmani 30 success was talk of the town and media converged on the campus to know the details.
The journey that started in August 2008 is on, registering success every year. First year it was 100%, this year a little low. However, the Rahmani-30 administration is determined to continue the journey with more vigor and hard work in the greater interest of the community. The movement will inspire many for years to come.
(The writer is member of Executive Committee of Rahmani-30)