Punjab to copy Bihar model for rural IIT aspirants

CHANDIGARH - Impressed with the success of Bihar’s “Super 30″ programme for rural students, the Punjab government is set to replicate the model here to facilitate its marginalised and underprivileged students to crack the entrance test of India’s prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday gave an in-principle approval to the vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, to open a center to prepare rural students for admissions to IITs from the academic session 2010-11.

Badal has directed the planning secretary to make a budgetary allocation of Rs.139.17 lakh for the proposed centre in the state’s annual plan.

This is a step towards the holistic development of rural students. We are following the pattern of Bihar where a non-government organisation (NGO) run by some professionals imparted coaching to bright students from downtrodden sections, said A.S. Brar, vice-chancellor of GNDU, here Wednesday.

Their group is called ‘Super 30′ and they are providing free coaching, food and accommodation to the students. All the 30 students of the 2009 batch were able to get admission into an IIT. Thus, there is an immediate need to replicate this successful model in our state, said Brar.

The Punjab government will open this centre at Khalsa College Public School in Amritsar and Brar will be the chairperson of this centre.

Initially, the programme will be run for 50 students selected through a state-level entrance test. Students studying in rural schools and whose families’ annual income is less than Rs.2 lakh will be eligible for it, said Brar.