-by Ketika Kasetwar, May 2022

Finally, a document which attempts to bust the myths and misconceptions around the term ‘Giftedness’ in India. The NEP 2020 did acknowledge the necessity of providing appropriate support to Gifted Children in India, but the new AICTE policy actually lists down some points that direct towards identifying Gifted and High-ability Children. And setting aside two ‘Supernumerary’ seats under their new program for Gifted Students is a promising development for many in India.

The AICTE policy distinguishes between a bright and a gifted student, specifically students and not children. ‘Giftedness’ is not yet clearly understood by a majority in India, as displayed by the many discussions that I come across on different social media channels or in-person gatherings. Unfortunately, it is often confused with other terms used to describe children with learning disabilities due to a medical or physical condition. 

If we look at the history of any country, including of India, it is noticeable that major changes, inventions and ideologies were introduced by this pool of people with higher-than-average abilities. The names of such people will run in several pages, many of whom were supported at the right time to enable them to utilize their unique potential to overcome major crises. Also interesting is to see that these people could excel due to the conducive and appropriate support they received in their growing up years, whether formally or informally. Hence, it is extremely crucial and appropriate to search for these individuals early in life, identify the areas of their talents, and give them opportunities to learn in a favourable environment, for the betterment of a nation and society at large.

The least we can do as parents is find and learn more about how best we can support our children. Give them the parenting they need, rather than the parenting that parent/s want to give. Imagine the resource pool of highly intelligent, creative and imaginative people that India will have when more, if not all, gifted children receive the necessary learning environment to enhance their abilities in a wide range of area, from space exploration to agriculture to tapping natural energies to solve real-world problems.