IQ Variations Among the Developed and

IQ VARIATIONS AMONG THE DEVELOPED AND
DEVELOPING COUNTRIEStc "IQ Variations Among The Developed And Developing Countries"

The contents of an article that appeared a long time ago, in the Journal of Education, Minerva, have far reaching implications for countries like India, with large populations. The article reported on the variations of the median values of “intelligence quotient” (IQ). IQ, is a measure of intrinsic intelligence. The media value of IQ, as per a defined standard is 100.  Persons with IQ above this value are deemed to be more intelligent. The greater a person’s intelligence, the larger this value tends to be. The median value was found to be somewhat higher for a developed country than for a developing country, but not significantly higher. The article attributed the higher median value of IQ in a developed country to better opportunities for education, obtained through better standards of living. Perhaps what was even more interesting was the finding, that there was not much difference in the percentage of population with high IQ levels beyond a certain percentage level. But in any country, population with high intrinsic IQ levels by themselves, are not of much significance, if such people are not properly nurtured and educated.
The consequences of this observation are of far reaching importance for countries like India with large populations. Thus, if we compare the absolute number of persons with high IQ, (say above 120) in a developed country like Japan or Germany, with about 100 million population and India, with about 1000 million population, there will be about 10 times more people above this IQ index in India than in Japan or Germany. Our problem is one of identifying such intrinsically talented cross section of our population and nurturing them, so that as they grow, the country could grow at a faster rate.
Our ability to join the cadre of developed nations is crucially dependent upon our ability to identify and nurture this cross section of the population. A well-educated population is the greatest asset any country can possess. The developed countries, by and large, are characterized by the attention they pay to this problem. It is these people that contribute to their strength particularly in fields of high science and high technology. Precious title would be possible if we neglect this intrinsic strength of a nation’s capability, at least in some crucial fields, if we seek to join the developed world.
Unfortunately, it is precisely this cross section of our population, that has been neglected due to lack of foresight, and due to the wrong priorities of our Central and State Governments in their policies. One of the unfortunate consequences of the lack of support for even primary and secondary education, is the proliferation of private schools, which charge high capitation and tuition fees thus keeping them beyond the reach of families with limited resources. They are not designed to serve a noble cause but to earn money for their founders. Some examples reported in papers and their implications to government policies would be instructive to note in this context.
It was reported that Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, the then Minister for Human Resource Development had to drop the idea of the Navodaya School System due to lack of funds, estimated to be about Rs. 28000 crores. Incidentally it was reported around the same time, that the cost of developing a minimum nuclear deterrence conceived by the former Chief of Army Staff,  General Sunderji, including appropriate delivery systems, would also be Rs. 28000 crores. This is the cost of development of nuclear deterrence, which we claim will not be used for first strike. More recently Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi had to drop the idea of universal primary education presumably guaranteed by the Constitution, due to lack of funds estimated to be about Rs. 40000 crores. One wonders what our priorities should be in nation building and its protection; expanding the educational base or stockpiling nuclear weapons, which we presumably do not propose to use for first strike. It would be utterly unrealistic to assume that we are not stockpiling them. To add insult to injury, it was reported in the Hindu of April 9^th, that the Karnataka Government proposed to close 2000 government supported primary schools, presumably due to inadequate attendance. The papers also reported that the teachers were routinely coming very late to the schools. Should we be blamed if we think that it is to the advantage of the politicians to have an illiterate electorate and so a majority of them pay lip service to the importance of education but do not really mean it. So much for the concern of our authorities for even primary education!
There is also another aspect to this problem in our country. It is frequently thought that in our highly stratified society, through the caste system, there is a concentration of population with high IQ, among the higher strata of our society (castes). It should be clear that in this respect, what is true between a developed and a developing country should be equally true for our stratified society. Such differences, such as they are, are not intrinsic, but it is the availability of better opportunities among the higher castes that has resulted in the skewed distribution of IQ. In essence this implies that if equal opportunities for education, health care, and childhood nutrition are provided, for a sample population from among the various cross sections of our society (castes), there is not likely to be any difference either in the median value or the percentage of people with different IQs, at any percentage level. It should be evident that what is true for a sample population should be equally true for the population as a whole, provided they receive equal opportunities for education, health care and nutrition, at least before malnutrition leads to irreversible brain damage. It is here that government policies and priorities have seriously hurt the nation.
In a democratic society such as ours, there are no simple solutions to this problem. Against the ground of limited resources, our governments need to take some hardheaded policy decisions, if they wish to draw upon the intrinsic wealth of our nation. Perhaps examples from the National Aerospace Laboratories, where some deliberate efforts were made to identify and nurture talent, would not be out of place here. Recognizing that the future of aerospace is driven by excellence in high science, high technology, serious efforts were made to identify and nurture talented people at all levels and encourage them to take up further studies. The expectation was that as they grow, N A L also would grow in its field of professional strengths. This meant, actively helping people with potential to pursue higher education, sometimes even actively helping them to go abroad for higher studies. The case of a person with a three-year diploma in draftsmanship, working in a low level job, is particularly revealing. Recognizing his potential, this person was encouraged to take up further studies privately, while continuing to work. Soon he obtained the diploma of a professional society recognized by the government as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in engineering, receiving a gold medal for having stood first. He was then encouraged to do his master’s degree. After completing it successfully, he took up research leading to a Ph.D. degree with research facilities provided by N A L, he got his degree and is now a deputy director with an extremely well educated scientist on its rolls.
This is not an isolated instance. Tens of people, who had potential, were encouraged to take up higher studies within the country and abroad, with active support from the management. It should be evident that what is true in this institution could be equally true in other places also. It is a matter of recognizing the intrinsic potential of people (the younger the better), and nurturing them, so that as they grow, the country also grows, and the whole nation gets benefited. It calls for good educational facilities, health care, and good nutrition for the deprived children before irreversible brain damage sets in. If we do not implement such policies now, we will inevitably be sacrificing the next generation of our population also with all that it implies. All developed countries pay serious attention to these problems. There are no simple solutions or short cuts if we wish to obtain higher standards of living and join the cadre of the developed world, which is well within our reach considering our intrinsic strengths. It is on this point our Central and State Governments have to ponder.