Page 26 - Education Supplement February 2026

EDITORIAL

Where the system struggles
This is not a failure of individual
teachers. It is a structural problem.

Mainstream schools are designed
around standard pacing, standard
assessment, and behavioural
compliance. Teachers are managing
large classes, fixed curricula,
and increasing pressure to meet
measurable outcomes. There is limited
training in gifted cognition, twice-
exceptional profiles, or the realities of
asynchronous development.

When a child struggles, the system
tends to look for intervention rather
than a mismatch. Support is often
framed as slowing things down,
simplifying content, or removing What these children actually need
challenge altogether. For some Twice-exceptional learners benefit from environments that recognise the
learners, this is appropriate. For twice- whole child. They need deep enrichment rather than surface-level tasks.
exceptional children, it frequently Conceptual learning rather than rote repetition. Flexibility in how understanding
misses the mark. is demonstrated. Emotional safety, not constant correction.

Why are so many 2E children Most importantly, they need adults who understand that uneven development is
referred to remedial schools not a flaw, but a feature of how they learn.
Remedial schools play a vital and
necessary role. For learners with According to Ronél Smit, founder of Nebula College, many of the difficulties
foundational academic gaps, they parents encounter are not indicators of low ability, but signals of misalignment.
provide targeted intervention,
structure, and support that can be “We often see children who are deeply capable but completely misunderstood,”
genuinely life-changing. she explains. “When the environment changes, their behaviour and confidence
change with it. The issue was never intelligence. It was fit.”
However, twice-exceptional and
gifted learners are often referred She notes that behaviour is frequently a form of communication. When
to remedial environments for the children are bored, overwhelmed, or under-challenged, their distress is often
wrong reasons. misinterpreted as defiance rather than as a signal.

Their difficulty is not usually a lack of
ability. It is a lack of fit.

Remedial settings are typically
designed to slow the pace, simplify
content, and reinforce basic skills.
For a child whose primary need is
cognitive depth, conceptual challenge,
and meaningful engagement, this can
be deeply demoralising. Behaviour
often worsens. Anxiety increases. Self-
esteem erodes. Curiosity gives way to
disengagement.

Support does not mean less thinking.
It means better access to learning.

Education | February 2026 | 24