LIKE grapes on the vine, students who are gifted with stronger academic and intellectual abilities than others need to be nurtured with extra care and attention so they can thrive.
In Malaysia, this is carried out through initiatives such as the GENIUS@Pintar programme at the National GENIUS@Pintar Centre in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
The educational programme, said the GENIUS Division undersecretary Dr Noraisah Spahat, is specifically catered to bright and talented school students in Malaysia.
“This programme is built on the principle that intelligence is a natural ability that can be honed into a talent through the right environment,” she said.
“There is one smart and talented student among every 10,000 students,” she said, adding that while highly intelligent students are one in 100,000, profoundly gifted students are one in a million.
The programme began in UKM in 2009 with 690 students aged eight to 15 attending its school holiday camp.
Over the years, more than two million students have gone through the talent finding stage, while more than 6,000 have gone through the GENIUS@Pintar programme, including the school holiday camp and college.
Noraisah said the programme is important for Malaysia as it provides challenging actvities and holistic education to harness the potential of these gifted students to the fullest. It provides comprehensive education to Malaysia’s young and brightest with a curriculum that meets the cognitive needs of these students, and cultivates their leadership capabilities, she added.
It also reduces the migration of these brains to foreign countries as they have that same opportunity here, she said, adding that it produces experts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and digital fields.
“GENIUS@Pintar also gives birth to thinkers and innovators in various fields who can compete at the international level,” she said.
International recognition
The success of the programme can be seen in the number of competitions won by the programme’s participants.
Most recently, students in the programme have brought back awards and medals at the 63rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2022 held in Oslo, Norway; the F1 in Schools World Finals 2022; and the World Scholar’s Cup 2022.
Noraisah added that a group of students from Kolej GENIUS@Pintar Negara, UKM (KGPN UKM) had won the gold medal and received the Khawarizmi Special Award at the International Sustainability Invention, Innovation and Design Showcase 2022 organised by Universiti Teknologi Mara.
On the local front, she said nine students received the Best Category Award and the Best Synergised Ensemble at the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod 2022 National Choir Competition. These students will represent Malaysia at the international edition of the competition.
GENIUS@Pintar students also bagged five gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the MSSD Hulu Langat 2022 Olympic Championships.
Pathway for prodigies
To join the GENIUS@Pintar programme, Noraisah said students will first undergo two online screening tests – UKM1 and UKM2 – before they do a face-to-face competency test known as UKM3.
The online tests are used to discover students’ oral comprehension, reasoning, recall and information processing abilities.
UKM3 is done to identify the ability to master the STEM and the emotional intelligence (EQ) level of smart and talented students.
“Once they have passed all three tests, they will be offered to enrol in the Intelligent and Gifted Secondary Education Programme,” she said, adding that this is conducted at KGPN UKM; Kolej GENIUS@Pintar Negara, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia; and Pendang Science Academy in Kedah.
“The programme contains the curriculum offered by the American College Board including Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, English Literature and Mathematics courses offered at the university level, research courses, Philosophy of Science, Music, and Visual Arts. There are also other enrichment programmes such as PERMATApintar Model United Nations and the International Future Scientist Conference,” she added.
She said students can then proceed to the ASASIpintar UKM, which is a pre-university programme meant for talented Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers with good academic achievements and high intellectual potential.
The ASASIpintar programme, Noraisah explained, emphasises the holistic development of students to ensure that all physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and social aspects of students are improved.
The programme’s curriculum combines theory, practice and research courses to strengthen the students’ abilities to carry out various research in their fields of interest.
“Cultivating challenging (advanced) knowledge as well as the latest innovations are pillars of the ASASIpintar programme.”
