The Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) has officially launched Gifted and Talented Diagnostic Tool, a transformative framework designed to identify and nurture learners with exceptional abilities.
The initiative aims to ensure that exceptional learners are recognised and supported from an early age, maximizing their potential for personal and societal benefit.
The launch event was presided over by Principal Secretary for Basic Education, Prof Julius Bitok, who observed that for too long, gifted and talented learners in Kenya have not been fully identified or appropriately nurtured.
The PS said the country is consistently losing gifted and talented learners as some of the brightest minds are either recruited by more advanced systems abroad or drop out of school, sometimes turning to crime, drugs, or street life.
“We are launching a lens that will strengthen and modernise our approach to identifying and nurturing gifted and talented learners,” Bitok said.
He said the tool is a scientifically validated, culturally responsive, and multi modal diagnostic instrument that does not just look for the high scorer.
“For the first time, we have a standardised way to distinguish between a learner who is merely hardworking and a learner who is truly exceptional,” the PS said
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KISE Director Dr Norman Kiogora, described the launch as a significant milestone in ensuring that gifted learners are identified early and supported effectively within Kenya’s education system.
He said the new diagnostic tool captures giftedness across multiple domains, including intellectual, academic, creative, leadership, artistic, and psychomotor abilities.
The launch signals a powerful shift from traditional exam-focused assessment to structured, evidence-based identification of talent reinforcing Kenya’s commitment to ensuring no learner’s potential goes unnoticed.
The tool was developed through multi-agency process involving KISE, the Directorate of Special Needs Education, Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), Kenyatta University, and Stadi za Maisha.
By Obegi Malack
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