IIT Madras director V Kamakoti claims that when he wrote the IITJEE exam, only about 5,000 candidates took it. People have taken this number with zero attempts to validate it. Does it pass the smell test? Historical records are scant (in public domain) about IITJEE statistics. But I found a research report by Sreeharsh Kelkar, an MIT researcher, that claims 29,477 people were registered for IITJEE in 1978, and that number ballooned to 72,298 in in 1988. I have shared the pdf link and screenshot of Kelkar's data exhibit. If Kelkar's numbers are ANYWHERE near the truth, then about 65,000-70,000 people took the IITJEE when Kamakoti did, in 1985. His estimate of 5000, is 13x off - or an order of magnitude off. If you have some sort of STEM training, you will understand the magnitude of this. This is not a small ballpark error. Imagine if someone asked you to estimate their height. Instead of estimating 6 feet, you estimate their height as 78 feet (roughly an 8-storey building). This is the magnitude of Kamakoti's error. Imagine one more example. A doctor needs to prescribe you 5 mg of a drug. But instead, the doctor prescribes 65 mg. What do you think it says about the doctor? Now think of engine design, bridge construction, chip fabrication, etc. Everything the IITs stand for. What are the consequences of such errors? It would be ok if a layperson said this, but if an apex decision-maker made such an error, you wonder what other data they are using in their decision-making calculus. Are they even using data, or just running on intuition? Even more surprising is that people seem to be accepting this 5000 number uncritically. Why are the media not doing their jobs? What about the student activists? There's ZERO point in shouting Gen Z slogans on the streets and making cheeky memes if you cannot even fact check the high profile person who is apparently addressing your concerns. indiatoday.in/education-toda… kipdf.com/the-elites-last-st…