UP ‘child prodigy’ fit only for Class 2, says state body
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh children’s rights body on Tuesday said Ananya Verma is not eligible to join Class 9 after interacting with the four-year-old child prodigy in Lucknow.
Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (UPSCPCR) chairperson Juhie Singh, Vinika Karoli, who works with an NGO, and another expert Pooja Awasthi found that Ananya can read well but her level of understanding is not at par with a Class 9 student.
“She is no doubt a wonder girl. She can read Hindi and English text very well. But she cannot comprehend or explain what she read. Ananya recites without understanding. She can identify numbers but does not know anything about symbols of multiplication, division, addition or subtraction,” Juhie Singh said. “We found books on physics and chemistry in her bag but she was unable to tell something about the subject,” Singh said. “She can join Class 2 or 3 but for that, the child needs special training. If she goes to Class 9, she will be under immense mental pressure,” she said.
The commission has referred her to a child clinical psychologist and she will also undergo a scientific intelligence quotient test.
Singh said Ananya’s parents told the commission that they did not meet the district inspector of schools (DIoS) Umesh Tripathi who gave permission to Ananya for admission to Class 9. The commission will issue a notice to the DIoS seeking an explanation as to what prompted him to allow the girl to take admission in Class 9.
Vinod Ratra, the manager of St Meera’s School where Ananya was enrolled, said, “The child’s father has withdrawn Ananya. She is not coming to school anymore.”
“Ananya will study whatever the experts and child rights commission suggests. We will not put any undue pressure on this talented girl,” Ananya’s father Tej Bahadur, a sanitation supervisor at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), told HT.
Ananya’s elder sister, Sushma, also faced a similar situation. The UP board, however, helped her and Sushma appeared for the Class 10 examination at the age of 7. Sushma made it to the Limca Book of Records as the country’s youngest matriculate by passing the examination.