Gifted children need special schools

JAKARTA (JP): Noted psychologist S.C. Utami Munandar has called for the establishment of special schools for the gifted, saying they are needed to help Indonesia meet its target of producing high quality human resources.

Utami said yesterday that the gifted and talented may become underachievers unless they are given special, more challenging learning programs.

"To produce high quality human resources, we need to provide these children with a special education," she said.

"Otherwise, they may underachieve, and this will be a disadvantage because, in the future, gifted children will be expected to master sophisticated technology faster than 'normal children'."

She defined gifted not only as possessing great intelligence, but also talents in the arts, sports or other fields.

The professor at the University of Indonesia's School of Psychology was speaking at a press conference about the Fourth Asia-Pacific Conference on Gifted which will be held here from Aug. 4 to 8.

The conference is being jointly organized by Utami's school and the Indonesian Foundation for the Education and Development of Gifted Children. It will be followed by a seminar in Bandung on Aug. 10 and in Yogyakarta on Aug. 12.

Participants, including some gifted children, from 20 countries will attend the conference, Utami said.

A.S. Munandar, also a professor at the School of Psychology, appeased some people's concerns that providing special education programs for the gifted would discriminate against other children or create an "intellectual elite" in society.

"People know there are elite groups in society, such as the elite of the world of sports. So why be afraid of having an intellectual elite? It's this group that can contribute greatly to the nation's development," he said.

Keynote speakers in the conference will include several experts on gifted children, including Eddie Braggett from Australia and Wu Tien Wu, president of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, from Taiwan. (31)