Swanand Foundation

Frequently Asked Questions

Does your organisation conduct any coaching classes for students?

No. Swanand Foundation is dedicated only for the cause of early identification of talent and for providing appropriate information about ways and means to nurture the talent. Neither do we run, nor do we have affiliation with, any commercial coaching institutes or organisations.

Do you conduct IQ tests for identifying talent?

No. We rely on the demonstrated abilities of the child in certain standard examinations as well as the inputs given by the child's parents and teachers. We may also interview the child and the parents/teachers and use the inputs from the interaction to assess the child's talent and potential. In a few cases we may recommend IQ test from a standard tesing agency. However, we do not conduct any IQ tests.

My daughter is in std. IV. She likes mathematics very much. She reads, understands and solves Maths books of even higher standards. But, she is not good at social sciences and hence gets a very low rank in her class. Can you advise her?

In fact, we would first advise you not to worry too much about her class rank. You should refer to the various standard examinations listed on our website and let your daughter appear for them. Depending on her performance in those exams, you may like to enrol her in the Swanand Talent Nurture Group. We would also advise you on various other avenues for her development if you keep in touch with us in future

We are uneducated and poor parents from a rural background, but, our child does very well at school. Can he hope to become as good as city-bred children from educated familes?

Talent and academic brilliance are normally distributed over the population in rural as well as urban areas. If your child is talented, he can surely reach great heights. Your own status or level of education can make a difference only in terms of availability or lack of opportunities at the right time. So, you may keep in touch with us for further guidance and we shall try to provide your child with the right guidance at the right time.

My son is studying in a vernacular medium school. Will it be difficult for him to face competitive exams later? Should I put him in an English medium school?

An intelligent child can pick up English language reasonably well and cope with competitive examinations later. Most schools also have a semi-English medium from std VIII onwards. You can aid his language development by enabling him to read light fiction and informative non-fiction books. Changing his school could lead to undesirable emotional issues and adjustment problems.

My son is studying in class V in a school following state board syllabus. Should we change his school and opt for CBSE/ICSE board?

You must choose a suitable school which is close to your home, is affordable and is attended by children from your socio-economic class. Board and syllabus do not matter much as long as the child is adequately exposed to all subjects and is loaded with work commensurate with his academic potential. If he is able to cope with his current syllabus, then exposing him to books of other boards and, if possible, of higher classes will do him good. If the parents and the child are otherwise happy with the school, there is no need to change.

As a teacher I find a few outstanding students good in studies as well as art, sports etc. But, there is not much awareness among parents about various career options. Can you help?

As a part of our outreach program, we conduct awareness sessions for parents as well as teachers about different career options available in India and abroad for children having different talents. You can organise our session at your school or through any local organisation.

We find that many organisations conduct an aptitude test before giving career guidance. Why do you not rely on aptitude tests?

Our belief is that career choices must be made based on many inputs rather than the results of some generic tests.Therefore, we do not conduct aptitude tests. On the contrary, we rely on the inputs from parents about the child's interests and abilities. We also draw from our on-on-one interaction with the child as well as the parents. We consider the aspirations of the child in relation with the demonstrated potential; and also the parents' desires in the light of their socio-economic conditions. This gives us the complete picture before we suggest suitable career options.

How is your career guidance service different from that offered by other organisations?

The main difference is that we are a not-for-profit NGO, interested in overall development of talented children. While giving guidance, we consider all the inputs and also discuss practical aspects of the possible career choices with the parents and the child. In a few cases, we also have to counsel the child and/or the parents and make them modify their aspirations to suit the other factors. Children, at that age, are quite mouldable. If advised properly, they can be be guided onto the most appropriate path which can save them from becoming 'career misfits' at a later stage.