'Nikhil and I were among the worst performers': Nithin Kamath says school, college scores are not all that matter

October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, a designated period intended to spread understanding and support for the approximately '5-20 per cent of children worldwide living with dyslexia' -  a common learning disorder that makes reading and writing difficult for children.

Nithin Kamath, the co-founder of trading platform Zerodha, on Tuesday offered a perspective on dyslexia and said that parents must be aware of this disorder. 

Kamath said he and his brother Nikhil Kamath were among the lowest-performing students academically but they turned out right in life. 

"Anywhere between 5-20% of children have dyslexia, according to various estimates. October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, and parents must be at least aware of Dyslexia. Both @nikhilkamathcio and I were among the worst performers in school, but we turned out alright in life. The key was the support of our parents in everything that we attempted," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

For the Kamath brothers, all was not lost in academics; their saving grace was the unwavering and profound support from their parents. Rather than being disheartened by their poor academic performance, their parents viewed their struggles as learning opportunities, fostering an environment of acceptance and perseverance, he said

"Eventually, your school and college scores are not all that matter. The understanding and support of parents is even more important, especially if kids have learning difficulties. Thanks, Arun from  @DLearners_in, for nudging me to share this," Kamath said. He also expressed his gratitude, thanking Arun Fernandez, the founder of DLearners for prompting him to share his personal journey.

Netizens, who agreed with his thoughts, shared their perspective on X. Shweta, founder at TrustScore, said that this above problem is for middle-class parents who want their children to do better than them. "They try to spend on education and expect him to reach the best college or get the best job. But the major issue in India is that parents who are below the middle class are not able to judge or guide their children to pick a career or learn a skill that can make them survive & thrive," she said. 

"These sets of children either follow the same profession or try to break up seeing around which may not be best for them. A system to let a child know the possibilities when he is 12-14 and the cost which can be offered by all will change & contribute to human optimization and better health of India and the Indian economy," she added.

"So glad you said this, Nithin. Marks are important but not everything in life," another user commented. "And thanks to Aamir khan for portraying it in such a wonderful way in Taare Zameen Par," another user commented.

A third user wrote, "As a child with dyslexia, how and did you figure out what you want to do in life. My son has been struggling with his studies and honestly, we don't mind that but he does feel lost sometimes which is heartbreaking for us."

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