KUALA LUMPUR: More than 6,000 gifted children have benefited from the PermataPintar National Gifted Centre.
But, PermataPintar director Professor Datuk Dr Noriah Mohd Ishak said the youngest student at the centre since its inception in 2009 was 6-year-old Izz Imil Shahrom.
She said the autistic child had enrolled in the centre to study Mathematics and Chemistry.
“The boy’s parents were about to move to the United States when they approached us last August and inquired whether PermataPintar was suitable for him.
“After Izz sat for a few tests, it was found that his intelligence was remarkable. He could solve mathematical equations for 16-year-old students and chemistry questions,” she said at the PermataPintar centre at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia here today.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, paid a special visit to PermataPintar to observe how Izz was coping at the centre.
“As PermataPintar’s patron, she wanted to meet Izz and she told me that she was amazed by his intelligence,” said Noriah.
“”There are many gifted children like Izz in the country but parents don’t know where to go to boost their capabilities.
“That’s why PermataPintar was established to create such opportunities.
“Children enrolled here sit for an Independent Learning Programme to ensure that they can attend school sessions successfully,” she said.
Meanwhile Izz’s father, Imil Shahrom Abdul Ghani, said although he was enrolled at the centre he still had the playfulness of a normal 6-year-old.
“He is having fun attending the classes here and although the normal sessions are from 8am to 4.30pm, he is here for not more than two hours.
“We come here every Tuesday and Thursday. But, on other days, he still goes for piano lessons and has playtimes with children his age,” he said.