Why Early Talent Identification Matters for Young Minds – Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar

From left: Dr Mukta Karmarkar, Balajit Shetty, Kushal Hegde, Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Dr. Narayan Desai, Dr. Paromita Roy, Dr. Sameena Manasawala, Dr. Devasena Desai, Dr Heidrun Stoeger and Malati Kalmadi.

Kaveri Gifted Education Center Completes 10 years of its pioneering efforts in gifted education.

Over 8 million gifted children from India are waiting to be identified and nurtured.

PUNE: “Children gifted with enormous talent are important as they are the ones who are going to lead the country. So, early identification of the talent and nurturing the same in the right direction is of paramount importance”, opined Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar after he inaugurated the International Conference on Gifted Education 2024. The conference is organized by The Kaveri College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune in association with Kaveri Gifted Education and Research Center (KGERC) at the Shankuntala Shetty Auditorium of Kaveri Group’s Erandwane Campus. Indian Council of Social Science Research has also extended support to this conference. Gifted education is the set of educational practices for students who are considered gifted or talented.

Sighting an example of Lokta’s Law of scientific productivity Dr Mashelkar said, “Children with high talent are difficult to find, but it is important to find them early and an effort should be made to unfold their natural potential rather than molding them for a particular subject. Innovation should be encouraged from the grassroots level and it should be by the people for the people. While dealing with the children today, we must consider the fact that they were born in another time and are well informed due to the digital tools at their disposal.”

“One must not forget that Education is equal to the Future and parents too have an important role to play in this regard. How to think and what to think is something that is required to be taught to children gifted with high potential. The growth of various countries was largely driven by diverse aspects. However, India’s growth will be driven by IT which stands for Indian Talent“, he added.

Malati Kalmadi, Founder and Director of Kaveri Gifted Education and Research Center (KGERC) said, “It is indeed very gratifying to see that Dr. Mashelkar inaugurated KGERC and today when we are celebrating 10 years by way of organizing this international conference, he is the Chief Guest. The attention for gifted education is increasing globally with over 21 countries in the world having policies in place for the same. NEP 2020 has some related elements but a lot more attention is required to create a thoughtfully designed structure and framework for gifted education so that gifted children get the opportunity that they deserve.”

“We have set up Talent Hubs in the institutions of Kaveri Group that focus on identifying potential on parameters like STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and Art sector at an early stage. Facets like spiritual and emotional well-being are also given due importance. Millions of gifted children from various parts of the country are waiting to be identified and nurtured. According to an estimate, the population of such gifted children who have enormous potential in India is in the range of 7.32 to 8.25 million in the age group of 6- 18, So collective efforts are required to untap this huge pool of talent“, Malati Kalmadi added.

‘Nurturing Buddhiman Children – A Practitioner’s Guide’ was released on the occasion. This book is jointly authored by Dr Devasena Desai, Dr. Sameena Manasawala, and Dr. Paromita Roy. The book is published by Kaveri Gifted Education and Research Center and Vishwakarma Publications. Dr. Sameeena Manasawala and Dr. Devasena Desai were felicitated at the hands of Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar for their outstanding contribution to this field of gifted education.

Dr. Heidrun Stoeger, Professor of Educational Science at the University of Regensburg, Germany delivered the Keynote address on the topic ‘Mentoring and its Significance for Talent Development’.

Kushal Hegde, President Kannada Sangha, Pune was present on the occasion along with Balajit Shetty, Dr. Devasena Desai, Dr. Mukta Karmarkar, and Sumathi Srinivasan from the Kaveri Group of Institutes. Deepa Sathe anchored the program

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