Most reactions I had concerning the proposal to establish national Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) colleges (LIVE?N?LEARN, L?express-outlook of 17.1.2006) did not concern science but the mode of admission! What exactly did I mean by ?aptitude testing?, what sort of tests? would such tests open the ?rat-race? again?

One correction: after consultations and reflection, I now propose that these STI colleges start at 14+, i.e. as from Form IV, not at 11+. Admission would be through aptitude tests, which are simply ways of identifying those gifted with, in that case, the innovative trait. Now that all Mauritian children are to be in schools up to16, within each school, aptitude testing must be encouraged. For example, finding out which kids have tonal memory, pitch/timbre discrimination and rhythm memory and giving them advanced lessons in music! That is how we can build a new generation of performing Mauritians, not by starting once again an admission rat-race at 11+.

Be it as it may, I went back to the research board to find suitable explanations of aptitude testing, which may answer the queries received. The modern ?Johnson O?Connor? tests are what I retained, as tests, which are known to give excellent leads to individual potential. These tests were initially devised by O?Connor - a believer in the existence of multiple intelligences - 80 years ago to try and measure natural abilities of students and professionals. Twenty categories of aptitudes can be identified, strength in each indicating a potential for given occupations. For example:

Objective personality

Graphoria (good at dealing with figures and symbols; usually do well in academic studies)

Ideaphoria (measures creative imagination)

Structural visualization/spatial ability

Inductive reasoning (important for lawyers, diagnostic physicians, journalists and writers, scientists)

Analytical reasoning (necessary for computer people, economists)

Manual dexterity (important for all artisans and technicians, for playing music, sculpting etc, misused by pickpockets!)

Tweezers dexterity (for surgeons, watch and microchip handlers)

Power of observation (key to success for all researchers, detectives, social workers)

Design memory (necessary for architecture, planning, haute couture etc)

Music related aptitudes (quoted above)

Numerical reasoning and number memory (aptitude to identify relationships between sets of numbers-useful in a multitude of occupations, including bankers and ..ministers of finance!)

Verbal reasoning and silograms (ability to learn unfamiliar words and languages - necessary for translator, speech writer, language teacher)

Foresight (ability to keep in mind distant goals and visualize pathways ahead - useful for politicians, educators, priests, diplomats and leaders in all walks of life).

Several other tests exist, which measure these and other aptitudes and which you may wish to check out. I found the ?Myers-Briggs personality indicators?, often used by the UN, specially interesting.

Would you not wish to discover your own potential? And, as the saying at the top of this article reads, ?the earlier the better?. I say all this with the firm belief that people are happier and more productive if they work at what they are good at, not at what has been haphazardly thrust upon them.

<B>Dr. Michael ATCHIA

[email protected]</B>