There are many gifted individuals in this world with distinct capabilities who may be deficient in many qualities which people with the same capabilities in another country may have acquired. Most academic institutes here, be they primary, secondary, higher secondary or even a university, lack the specialised infrastructure required to train such extraordinary individuals so that they can excel in their particular fields of interest.

Most academic institutions usually offer tailored programmes that fit individuals on the criteria which they have set. They call it merit. The criteria are based on evaluating the distinct qualities needed to train the individuals to fulfill the demand of landing a well-placed job. They have no room for originality.

As a result the professional institutes are unable to make use of such individuals mainly because they fail to accommodate them along with their common but minor deficiencies, though most of them are more intelligent and creative than an average individual. The insufficiencies are either the family traits present in them or they are acquired due to other social or psychological factors that have affected their lives. The professional institutes are usually unaware of their special requirements.

A lack of general awareness or a belief in the survival of the fittest seems to be the underlying reason due to which this important issue stays unaddressed in educational institutions all over the globe. The situation is more alarming in the developing countries where there is already a limited access to quality education.

Another reason could be that the individuals may be offered expertise in any area of their interest but without any understanding of their high level of intelligence that may be causing other emotional psychological problems in their lives. The teachers may know much about their subjects but not much about the common issues that can affect an individual’s performance in his or her personal or professional life.

Extraordinary people may have extraordinary needs. Unfortunately, such individuals have many a time also been considered insane as most people cannot differentiate between normal abnormalities and abnormal abnormalities; the latter is considered to be an illness.

History is replete with individuals who made an impact in their respective fields despite never showing any outstanding performance while studying in any institute or working at any place. Most of them were dropouts, exploited and humiliated for their unusual combination of capabilities. Many of them had a crippled social life. But time proved that nothing could damage their innate passion towards creativity. Almost all of them had been misunderstood at their time but were appreciated later.

The problem does not lie in the existence of such issues but in the negligence to address their issues. One way to start is to develop a working relationship between the different professional and academic institutions involved in research and teaching of social sciences. There should also be an initiative to design guidelines and policies that are helpful to make such extraordinary individuals a part of the world we are living in today. This network needs to extend not only at the national but also the international level.

One important point that is often ignored but is highly significant, especially in the area of social sciences, is that findings of studies made on population in other regions need to be translated keeping in view the differences in historical, cultural, social, economical, religious and other aspects of people living in those regions of the globe before applying them here. This enhances the significance of indigenous research in collaboration with international institutes and joint training programmes that in turn would be helpful to develop an effective joint long-term plan.

It may be a good idea to reserve a certain percentage of seats in academic institutes for these extraordinary individuals. This also means admission and job needs to be given on criteria different than that which is adopted in routine or so called merit, keeping in view their minor shortcomings. They should be facilitated in an area where they can excel.

This will help these individuals to be a part of the existing life around them and on the other hand also help others to tolerate and accept them as they are.

Certain nutrient deficiencies can also alter an individual’s behaviour. There are some foods reported to be found helpful in curing this. In my opinion, it is important to include relevant topics of social sciences and food science with an essential part of the syllabus and make it compulsory for all. There should be a general awareness on how ordinary and extraordinary people can work together and complement each other.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi.