Page 44 - EW March 2025

Cover Story

students is quite high. This proves that
this model produces extraordinary
results. Teachers and parents need to
be equipped with knowledge and skills
to harness potential and develop the
giftedness of every child,” says Dr.
M. Srinivasan, Founder-Chairman
of the CBSE-affiliated GEAR School.
An alum of the Regional Institute of
Education, Mysore with a Masters in
gifted & talented education from the
University of Connecticut, USA, Dr.
Srinivasan was inspired by his men-
tor Prof. J. Renzulli, to promote GEAR
School 29 years ago.
A S RECITED AT LENGTH

earlier, Indian education
and as a consequence
the Indian economy, is GEAR International's Srinivasan: extraordinary results
in bad shape. The country’s large and
untapped demographic dividend of students. A combination of policy- districts, and beyond. Examples in-
gifted children offers the prospect of level initiatives, specialised programs, clude Science Circles, Math Circles,
successfully correcting this dismal re- challenging curriculums, mentorship, Music & Dance Performance Circles,
ality. Therefore instead of making all- socio-emotional support, and public- Chess Circles, Poetry Circles, Lan-
is-well proclamations, policy formula- private partnerships to accelerate guage Circles, Drama Circles, Debate
tors, universities, and industry need to R&D and innovation, is urgently re- Circles, Sports Circles, Eco-Clubs,
cooperate to polish India’s millions of quired to unlock the potential of our Health & Well-being Clubs/Yoga
rough diamonds to sparkle in the hope large number of gifted children. The Clubs and so on. Along these lines,
that some of them will invent and in- Indian economy can be pushed into high-quality national residential
novate world-beating/game-changer double digit economic growth by the summer programmes for secondary
products and services that will vault creativity and innovation of sufficient- school students in various subjects
India to the forefront of developed ly nurtured gifted children,” says Ma- will also be encouraged, with a rigor-
countries and fire the stuttering In- hika Shishodia, Head of Education, ous merit-based but equitable admis-
dian economy to record double digit Lodha Foundation (quoted earlier). sion process to attract the very best
GDP growth rates. A good augury is that government students and teachers from across
“India aspires to become a devel- and the establishment is -- even if be- the country including from socio-
oped economy by 2047. This can only latedly – awakening to the substantial economically disadvantaged groups,”
be accomplished by the country be- dividend that can accrue to the nation says NEP 2020.
coming an innovator rather than fol- if our large community of gifted chil- The bugle has been blown, the
lower nation. The US and China have dren is encouraged, nurtured and en- trumpet has sounded. The country’s
emerged as the most advanced econo- abled. Although the National Educa- policy formulators, educationists, and
mies and investors in artificial intel- tion Policy 2020 is focused on equity edupreneurs need to urgently cooper-
ligence and new digital technologies and inclusion, it also stresses the im- ate and collaborate to identify, nurture
because of their human capital and portance of enhancing gifted students and enable India’s gifted children and
top talent at their universities. These with special talents. youth whose number may well exceed
countries nurture and enable gifted “Teachers will (should) aim to en- 25 million — the country’s real demo-
children and youth and support the courage students with singular inter- graphic dividend. There is high prob-
brightest minds from early age in ar- ests and/or talents in the classroom ability that provided encouragement,
eas such as academics and socio-emo- by giving them supplementary en- nurturance and enablement, dozens of
tional wellness. In contrast, India’s richment material and guidance and them will create, invent and innovate
substantial pool of gifted children is encouragement. Topic-centred and sock-it-to-’em killer products and ser-
largely untapped. We need policies Project-based Clubs and Circles will vices that will leapfrog laggard India
to the forefront of the global socio-
and an ecosystem that prioritise the be encouraged and supported at the economic development race.
identification and nurturing of gifted levels of schools, school complexes,

44 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2025