Arpit Shankar, a second-year student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) BHU, Varanasi, and Richa Rani, another student of IIT (Guwahati) have one similarity or connecting bridge that is Chandan Kumar Jha, currently serving as Superintendent of Police (SP) – Bokaro steel city.
Both cracked one of India’s toughest exams — IIT-JEE — after attending Mr. Jha’s special classes which he used to take during the course of his service as an IPS officer.
Chandan Kumar Jha photo while teaching in a school in Bokaro. | Photo Credit: Amit Bhelari
“Chandan sir’s teaching was totally different, unlike the other teachers who believe in pin-drop silence study. The way he used to teach was something I never came across. He knew very well what should be taught to the students which can help us in cracking the exams. If I have cracked IIT-JEE, thanks to him who not only guided me but also provided study materials,” Mr. Shankar said, who passed his schooling from DPS Ranchi and is currently at IIT BHU with civil stream.
Every Sunday, Mr. Jha used to visit coaching institutes where he taught the students preparing for the competitive exams. Mr. Jha is a 2011 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre but he hails from Madhubani district of Bihar.
Ms. Rani, who passed her schooling from Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamli and cracked IIT-JEE in 2021, has something similar to say.
“I am lucky that I got a teacher like Chandan sir who took out the time from his busy schedule to teach us for the competitive exams. His tips helped me to crack IIT-JEE. While teaching he used to share his personal experience of how he cracked competitive exams like IIT-JEE, CAT and UPSC. If I have got the admission to IIT, it’s all because of him,” Ms. Rani said.
Mr. Jha passed his 12th from KVS-Patna, Bailey Road, in 2002 followed by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Calicut — 2003-2007 batch, electrical engineering. He worked in Bengaluru for one year as a software engineer at Cerner Health Care – USA based multinational company. In 2008, he left his job and went to Delhi to prepare for the civil services examination.
He made his first attempt in 2009 where he got allied services of group A, however, in the second attempt of 2010 he got IPS and was selected for the 2011 batch. His first posting was as a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Pakur 2013, followed by city SP Jamshedpur in 2015, SP Gumla in 2016, CID SP for four months, SP Chaibasa in 2018, ADC to governor in 2019-20. From April 2020 till date, he is serving as SP in Bokaro.
He mainly teaches the students of classes 11th and 12th with a special focus on mathematics and physics. In 2021, all the 12th standard students of Ramrudra High School Bokaro passed with first division from Jharkhand Board.
Arnav Kumar, the topper of the school said, “He taught us for six months. Every Sunday, he used to visit the school for the special classes and used to teach us for two to three hours depending upon the portion. It’s all because of him, I topped the school with 95.6 % marks. His tips were really helpful.”
Another student from the same school, Sheetal Kumari, currently working with HCL as a software engineer in Lucknow said, “Our classes used to be held from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., every Sunday. He not only taught us but also donated around 300 books for engineering preparation. His guidance helped me to get the job in HCL.”
Chandan Kumar Jha photo while teaching in a school in Bokaro. | Photo Credit: Amit Bhelari
Santosh Pandey, the then principal of Ramrudra High School, when all the students had passed with first division said, “He is a true teacher and a gentleman, even in covid days he used to visit the school to teach the students. He motivated our students and due to him, all passed with first division. He used to conduct classes with a cool mind and tough subjects like mathematics turned easy due to the methods he used to adopt while teaching. He used to give the tricks to solve the questions.”
Son of Bhageshwar Jha and Shyama Jha, the Bokaro SP has continued his journey till today and every Sunday, he visits government as well private schools to teach the students.
“During school days I had this habit of teaching others, be it my classmates or juniors. The best part of teaching is that you also get the opportunity to revise the subject. Formally, I started teaching during the time of civil services preparation. After joining the civil services, I continued this habit but only on Sunday because that’s the only day we are free in comparison to weekdays,” Mr. Jha told The Hindu at his official residence in Bokaro.
Mr. Jha has one elder brother and three sisters; he is the youngest one among all. Married to Dipti Kumari, he has three children — two daughters and one son.
Asked about getting the inspiration to become an IPS officer, Mr. Jha said, “In school days I had watched bollywood movie Gangajal and the character of Ajay Devgn has motivated me a lot. I used to think that after becoming an IPS officer I will also act like him but later I realised that one has to slog to clear UPSC. I want to motivate the students not only for their studies but to bring change in their overall personality and behavior.”
Many students even visit his official residence to get the doubts cleared whenever he is available.
“I am not a formal teacher and my first priority is the policing only but whenever I get the opportunity, I don’t miss it and ensure that my knowledge helps others as well. The next two to three years would be hectic as being on SP rank. Of course when I will go on DIG rank, I will relatively get more time for the students,” Mr. Jha stressed.
During the course of his service, he has nabbed many criminals including a terrorist while serving as Jamshedpur city SP.
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