THE Haryana Super-100 campus at Barna village in Kurukshetra is giving wings to the dreams of meritorious students belonging to the economically weaker sections and reserved categories, who may otherwise fall short of achieving their goals in the absence of quality coaching.
The ‘Haryana Super-100’ scheme, launched in 2018 as a collaborative effort between the Haryana Education Department and the Vikalp Foundation, offers free coaching, education, and residential facilities for Class XI and XII government school students in the state who wish to compete for the all-India JEE (engineering) and NEET (medical) entrance exams.
The Super-100 students are selected through a test. So far, over 300 students coached under this scheme have gained admission to IITs and other prestigious engineering institutes such as IIITs and NITs; as well as AIIMS and various other government medical colleges.
In the recent JEE Advanced results, of the 226 students who appeared, 100 qualified. Currently, there are 800 students at the Super-100 centre (in Class XI and XII).
The journey
An alumnus of IIT-Delhi, Naveen Mishra (48), the president of Vikalp Foundation, is the driving force behind the programme.
“My father worked as a labourer at a factory. I did my schooling from a government school, then moved to Darbhanga, and later to Delhi for higher studies. I have experienced the struggles a student coming from a humble background faces in metropolitan cities. I worked in many companies but always found a conflict between my culture, understanding, and the corporate lifestyle,” says Mishra, who hails from Kaithahi village of Madhubani, Bihar.
He decided to join the civil services, but after reaching the UPSC interview stage twice, Mishra decided to dedicate himself to educational upliftment. He also joined Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.
Mishra was also one of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party and worked for the party actively. But after internal conflicts in the party surfaced, he started Vikalp Foundation and began teaching children in parks at Rewari in 2013.
When these children did well in exams, more and more students started coming to him. Eventually, the Rewari district administration provided him space at Bal Bhawan. As the growing number of students demanded more of his time, he disassociated himself from AAP and started teaching full-time, free of cost. Till 2017, he was working with the Rewari administration.
“I proposed to the authorities to teach 100 students of government schools. Most of them have potential, but due to distractions, lack of guidance and the mindset of the students as well as parents, they lose track. The authorities agreed and I submitted a detailed proposal before the Education Department, outlining an annual cost of Rs 1.35 crore. The department asked me to show at least Rs 35 lakh in my account before it could go ahead with my proposal. I asked my friends and teachers and collected the amount. This is how, in 2018, the Super-100 was launched,” recalls Mishra, who still teaches physics, chemistry and mathematics to the students.
He gives credit to former Chief Secretary Dharam Vir; IAS officer Rajnarayan Kaushik, who served as Director, Elementary Education; Rakesh Gupta, former Director, Secondary Education, and Pradeep Sansanwal for supporting the programme.
The primary objective of the programme, meant only for children studying in government schools, is to empower the meritorious students to achieve success in national-level examinations by providing them with quality education, proper guidance, and a healthy academic environment.
But things didn’t go as planned. “Some people were not happy with the initiative, which led to a series of false complaints and subsequently, in 2023, the centre was shifted to Kurukshetra,” says Mishra.
Early struggle for children
The students face many initial challenges, including the level of studies, limited contact with family as mobiles are not allowed at the centre, and restricted access to the outer world. A few fail to adjust and go back, but those who show dedication have been fulfilling their dreams. Besides classes and self-study, the children are engaged in activities like music, drama, gardening, and other sports activities.
“The programme is giving confidence to the children of farmers, labourers, auto drivers, barbers, and many others to achieve their potential, compete with the privileged students and crack the JEE Advanced and NEET,” says Mishra.
Garima, whose father runs a barber shop in Fatehabad, and Priya, whose father is an accountant in the Taraori grain market, are among the students preparing for JEE. They are confident that the Super-100 will change their lives, and are motivating their younger siblings to get ready for Super-100.
“We have studied in government schools, and hence find the level of education very high here. After the initial struggle, we are now settled and ready to crack JEE Advanced,” says Garima. Similarly, for Hisar’s Neha Lata, whose father works in a private firm after retiring from the Army, and Karnal’s Mehak, whose father works as a labourer, Super-100 is not just a medium to crack the competitive examination, but also to support their family.
“I want to do something for my family. Being the eldest among three sisters and a brother, I have seen the struggle of my family and I want to support them,” adds Mehak.
For Vinay, a Hisar bee farmer’s son, who aims to clear the NEET, Super-100 is the only hope as the family is not in a position to pay the fee of a private coaching institute.
While a majority of students aim for higher packages after getting admission in IITs, two girls, who were students of the first batch of Super-100, came back after graduating to teach the underprivileged.
Rohtak’s Anju (whose father drives a truck), an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur, and Panchkula’s Ritu (whose father drives an auto), an alumnus of IIT-Indore, have returned to Super-100 to teach chemistry and physics, respectively. They feel that without Super-100, they wouldn’t have made it to the IITs, and wanted to contribute and help other kids achieve their dreams.
The challenges
Mishra says changing the mindset of parents and students is a major challenge. “People would rather attend weddings and social or religious events than focus on studying. The foundation of the children studying in government schools is very weak, especially in mathematics. Though the children come after passing Class X, many fail to do basic math equations. The first few weeks are spent improving their basics.” Mishra believes that the children need more years to prepare for competitive exams. The students from private schools who compete in competitive exams start preparing from classes 6 or 7, but here the students start from Class XI.
“Recognising the success of the scheme, the state government has increased the seats from 400 to 500. If the Education Department starts taking the project more seriously and the Chief Minister’s office starts monitoring it more closely, I am confident that the children who come from humble backgrounds and rural parts of Haryana can do wonders,” Mishra says.
“I come from Bihar, but I’ve been working at the ground level for the children of Haryana, as my aim is to bring a revolution in education across the nation through Super-100,” says Mishra.
Similarly, Rajan Gundal, a resident of Panipat and an alumnus of IIT-Delhi and IIM- Lucknow, who has been playing a key role in the smooth functioning of Vikalp Foundation, says, “While working in MNCs and the banking sector, I always wanted to do something in the education sector. We should let kids do whatever they want to, but there must be complete dedication and hard work. After seeing the children doing well through Super-100, I feel satisfied now.”
