The founder of the 'Super 30' initiative, which provides free coaching to rural youths to crack the IIT entrance, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and requested him to allow poor students three chances to appear in the test instead of two.

Anand Kumar told Singh that the 'Super 30' initiative will increase its intake from 30 to 60 from the coming year and admit students from all states.

"I said that for poor and rural students, the number of attempts should be at least three, for they are invariably late starters and have a distinct disadvantage. The prime minister assured me that the government will look into it," Kumar said after the meeting.

The IITs provide two chances to all types of students to crack the test for admission into the elite institutes.

Kumar also suggested that the government should start providing coaching programmes on the lines of 'Super 30' by identifying talented students from rural areas. The 'Super 30' programme is a popular initiative conducted by Kumar for last seven years in Bihar and Jharkhand.

He also suggested starting two different syllabi for students at secondary level -- one for ordinary students and another for the extra-ordinary and talented students. The syllabus for the bright students should provide non-routine challanging problems, so that they could develop deep insight into the subjects at an early stage, he said.