India’s National Science Talent Search Examination (1963–1976)

Abstract

India’s National Science Talent Search (NSTS) examination (1963 to 1976) was imagined and implemented by some top scientists of the period. It aimed to identify “talented” secondary school students with an aptitude for science and mathematics. Selected students attended undergraduate summer schools, did research in special labs during their Master’s degree, and were supported by a scholarship until the completion of a Ph.D. Today, the extent to which NSTS changed the discourse of “talent” as well as the mode and content of large-scale testing in India is often forgotten. Among the innovations that the examination introduced and legitimized include the multiple-choice question (MCQ) format. It shaped a positivist discourse around a special category of questions called the “thought-type” in scientifically establishing the mental acuity of students. It also defined and used “extra-curricular knowledge” as a proxy for scientific interest. Another legacy of NSTS’s discourse of objectivity was a misplaced confidence in separating the performance of candidates from the social advantages/disadvantages that shaped their school experience. Additionally, the importance of expertise in designing the examination did not give space to the input of school science teachers. Eventually, the design of the scheme fell short of the expectations of policy-makers as well as the aspirations of those who were selected. In 1977, the examination was redesigned as a general National Talent Search Examination (NTSE). A critical analysis of the short history of the NSTS enables us to reflect on the construct of “science talent” and the challenges in identifying and nurturing talented students in science.