Arjun is sitting in the last row of the classroom. While the teacher is drilling down the tenth problem on calculating the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle using the Pythagorean formula, Arjun is looking out of the window contemplating the fourth proof he has discovered for the Pythagorean Theorem.

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All of Ria’s friends in her class are convinced that Mathematics is not a girls’ subject. Ria, however, loves Mathematics but has no guidance to nurture her interest further.

For the outliers

Arjun and Ria are not alone. Several such students struggle through structured curriculum designed to cater to the lowest common denominator. The curriculum is designed to produce a basic level of proficiency in all students ignoring Arjunas and Rias who are interested in discovering Mathematics on their own and looking for challenges that would fuel their growth.

While we all know about the Olympics, many in India are not aware of challenging competitions that showcase outstanding talent in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Linguistics, Cybersecurity, and Computer Science. In his talk, Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister congratulated Shreya Mundhada who won the Gold medal in the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad – a first time for India.

India has been participating in International Mathematical Olympiads from 1989. In that year, India ranked 25th among 50 countries that participated. In the year 2024, India ranked fourth among 108 participating countries. This is so far the best performance. The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education entrusted with the task of selecting the students to represent India for Mathematics and Science Olympiads, has a structured competition ladder consisting several stages.

Platforms that support

The current formal education ecosystem fails to recognise the need to nurture the students towards these competitions. Unlike some other countries, we do not have schools specifically designed for gifted students. However, some not-for-profit organisations like Raising A Mathematician Foundation (RAM), offer help.

RAM has approached the situation holistically. Instead of creating a coaching class type of program, RAM strives to feed the inquisitiveness of the students across ages – from online courses for Mathematics and Informatics Olympiad to Epsilon India, RAM TP, Math.Biz, All Girls Math Nurture Camp, and more, that focus on giving a broad exposure to students in different fields in an around mathematics.

Maths Circles is a global initiative started in Russia where mathematicians work with school students and engage them with meaningful problem-solving and exploration. These circles meet once a week on a relaxed weekend to explore mathematics with peers having similar interests and are guided by expert teachers. In India, there are about 16 active Maths Circles, out of which six are run by the RAM, two by the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) in Bengaluru, one by IISER Bhopal, one by IIT Pakakkad, and more.

Over the years, RAMs effort has yielded results –

• Three out of six students (Kanav Talwar, Shreya Mundhada and Bairav Murugan) selected to represent India in IMO, 2026 are RAM’s students.

• Siddharth Laxmisha selected for Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad for juniors is RAM student

• Two of RAM’s students who won medals in EGMO last year

• Gold medalist in EGMO this year is a RAM student

• Six students qualified for Linguistics Olympiad training camp are from RAM

• Four students qualified for Informatics Olympiad training camp are from RAM

What happens in Math nurture camps?

Students get to interact with peers who share the love of Mathematics and with teachers who mentor them. More often, we see students come to a teacher with wide eyes to inform the teacher a new idea that has occurred to them and a group of students discussing a solution among themselves critically reviewing each other’s work. An atmosphere of camaraderie nurtures their curiosity and increases the fun of discovery. More often, students wish that the camp lasted forever.

Can this environment be created in the schools? Unfortunately, No. The focus of the school curriculum is different and the teachers work inside a rigidly structured system in which they hardly have any time to encourage the mathematically talented child.

We have a long way to go. The rural talent in Mathematics is unexplored. We need to create more Math circles, conduct nurture camps across the country and also train Dronacharyas who will mentor the Arjunas.

China has been the rank one performer in IMO in the past several years and U.S. a close second. Will India capturing rank one in IMO remain a dream or become a reality in the near future? That will depend on how we nurture the Mathematics talent in the coming years.

(The author is Co-founder & CEO of Galvanize Global Education that provides guidance for students aspiring to do their Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, or MBA abroad. Ram Srinivasan holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.)