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Sep 28, 2006

"Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must be the joy of doing something beautiful." --Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy

Village Kids Crack Prestigious Exam

A small, derelict training school in one of India's poorest states is helping an amazing number of underprivileged students crack what is arguably one of the world's most competitive exams. Bihar's Ramanujan School of Mathematics is the brainchild of a local maths teacher, Anand Kumar. In its first year, 18 of the school's 30 students cracked the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance tests. Last year, 28 of the 30 passed the exam! To put it in perspective, IIT graduates have gone on to head companies like Sun Microsystems and McKinsey. Run out of a thatched hut with fraying wooden benches and creaking tables, the school offers free coaching and food. 34 year-old Anand Kumar says he set up the school after being unable to finance his higher education despite receiving admission to Cambridge University.