MUMBAI, April 18 -- Encouraged by the success of a pilot project in Nashik, the Maharashtra government has proposed to roll out its 'Super 100' scheme across all districts to help underprivileged students prepare for highly competitive entrance examinations such as JEE and NEET, paving the way for admissions to IITs, engineering colleges and medical institutions. The school education department has proposed an annual allocation of Rs.1.25 crore per district for the scheme. The initiative began in 2022-23 when the Nashik Zilla Parishad launched 'Super 50', selecting 50 students from government schools who had scored at least 70% in Class X and whose annual family income was below Rs.1 lakh. After two years of specialised coaching for engineering entrance examinations, more than 10 students secured admissions in various IITs and engineering colleges across the country. Following the encouraging results, the programme was expanded to enrol 100 students, while the annual family income eligibility ceiling was raised to Rs.2 lakh. Based on the pilot's performance, the school education department has now proposed extending the scheme. "The proposal has been sent to the planning department for further approval. We have proposed to fund the scheme through District Planning Committee funds, which are meant for welfare and development works. These funds range between Rs.400 crore and Rs.1,400 crore per district, and 5% has been earmarked for education," said a senior official from the education department. The official said the programme could serve as a social equaliser. "The students selected for this training are from rural areas and economically weaker families. Coaching for JEE and NEET is extremely expensive and can cost lakhs of rupees. Many parents do not even consider these options for their children, who often fall behind students from affluent families. If implemented statewide, it will help reduce the rural-urban imbalance as well," the official added. Under the scheme, selected students will be provided accommodation, coaching, and academic support for two years. In Nashik, the pilot project costs around Rs.2.10 lakh per student for the two-year period. Omkar Pawar, CEO and man behind the implementation, said the initiative was the first of its kind in the country. "We received very good results in the first year, and now 26 of our students have cleared JEE Advanced this year. These students come from very humble backgrounds. We focused on quality education by partnering with reputed institutions such as Aakash Institute and Physics Wallah for training. It is true that we could not achieve similar success in NEET as in JEE, but we will rectify that this year and improve on those fronts too," he said. Pawar added that the Nashik Zilla Parishad is also supporting students after they enter IITs. "We sent six students, selected to the IITs last year, to the United States along with a teacher to visit NASA so that they gain confidence. Apart from providing them laptops and other facilities, we have also been connecting them with IIT alumni from the state for guidance," he said....