NEW DELHI: In what it could be called as weaning away  young minds from anti-social activities in Kashmir Valley, Army’s Super 30 coaching initiative has notched up an impressive success rate of getting 30 students selected for the elite IITs and other engineering colleges in the country. 

The Army began its collaboration five years ago with the Centre for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) and Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) to train students from Kashmir Valley for engineering courses.

ÂWe had identified 35 students from the valley for engineering examination and 32 have cleared their examination this year. Out of 32, seven have been selected for admission to IITs and the rest will enroll in the NITs and other engineering colleges,” said Meenakshi Shahi, Chief Manager (Project and HR) National 

Super 30 of CSRL. 

On being asked about the mission of Super 30, Ms Shahi said, ÂThe CSRL wants to bridge the socio-economic gap prevailing in the society by providing free classes, food and lodging. She also appreciated the efforts of the Indian Army for providing infrastructure, security and safe environment in training the students. 

ÂIt is one of the successful projects undertaken by the Army in the valley which has impacted the lives of number of youths by providing them proper guidance and an opportunity to make a career for themselves, Army officials said. The project has equally helped the families of these youths in their growth and prosperity. It is a major milestone towards bringing normalcy in the valley, they said.  

Zahra Batool, one of the students who cracked the JEE examination shared her experience as to how she was attracted to this course. She said, ÂLast year, some of my friends got selected into IITs through this project. They asked me to get enrolled into this organization. I got selected into this scheme and I had a wonderful experience with the students across the country. While the boys are being trained at Srinagar campus, the girls are accommodated in Noida. 

The CSRL runs 15 centres across the country and will increase the number to 20 in July this year.

Along the lines of Kashmir Super 30 for engineering aspirants, Indian Army has recently signed a MoU for medical aspirants with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and National Integrity Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO), under which selected students will be provided with complete free residential coaching for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for their selection in various medical colleges in the country.