Bihar's Satyam Kumar cracks IIT entrance test at 12

A child prodigy from Bhojpur district in Bihar has created history by cracking the IIT-JEE 2012 at the age of 12 years and nine months.

Even the most prodigious kids his age seldom aim beyond scoring the highest in their school exams, while most of them generally spend their time playing videogames, watching television and making the most of the rebellion that comes with adolescence. But at 12 years, Satyam Kumar, a farmer's son from Bihar, is a born achiever. After all, he cracked the immensely competitive and prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) this year. Nevertheless, dissatisfied with his performance - he has secured an all-India rank of 8,137 - Satyam plans to take the exam again next year. "I will appear again. I wish to score a better rank," he said. But the diligent boy's performance this year is hardly a mean feat considering nearly 5.07 lakh students appeared for the exam altogether. Born on July 20, 1999, Satyam is believed to be the youngest to crack the exam ever. IIT sources said the record was previously held by Delhi boy Sahal Kaushik, who made it to the Mecca of engineering aspirants at the age of 14 in 2010. Satyam gives the credit of his success to his parents, uncle and the teachers who "always motivated" him to focus on his goal. So how did he go about his preparation for the IIT-JEE? Satyam, who is currently taking coaching classes at the hub of engineering training, Kota, says he used to study for five hours in addition to the time spent at the tutorial classes. He added that apart from the course books, NCERT books on different subjects, too, helped him a lot. IIT, however, is only a stepping stone to a bigger dream Satyam harbours - he wants to become an IAS officer in the future. But not before he makes a mark in the field of information technology and develops a website such as Facebook. Satyam appeared in the IIT-JEE even before his class XII results were announced. But his talent in studies was there for all to see since his early childhood. He was first brought to Patna for his studies at the age of six but was later taken to Kota by one of his uncles. He took admission in Modern School, where he passed Classes VIII, X and XII with flying colours. "Initially, there were some problems in his admission when he went to Rajasthan because of his age. But his natural talent surprised everybody," one of his relatives said. "He has always been able to solve even the most difficult of mathematics problems with great ease. Not only this, as a child, he actually memorised some of the epics," he added. Though the prodigy will take another shot at IIT next year, his village has already begun celebrating his feat. After all, it doesn't happen every day that your neighbourhood genius becomes a national hero of sorts.