On the initiative of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education of the Armenian State Pedagogical University named after Khachatur Abovyan and the Republican Pedagogical Psychological Center, "Changing Education. the two-day international conference entitled "Challenges of Universal Inclusion".
At the opening of the conference, Araxia Svajyan, deputy minister of KGSMS, made a speech of welcome.
He referred to the priorities of the sector, implemented policies and things to be done: "Armenia is considered one of the countries with a positive experience of universal inclusion in the region, where the system of inclusive education has been implemented for about 20 years.
Today, we have about 8,800 children with special educational needs, most of whom study in inclusive education schools, and 500 children in special schools," Araxia Svajyan said, adding that there are currently 7 special schools in Armenia. A change has taken place in the Law "On Public Education", according to which a process of reorganization of special schools will be carried out. most special schools will be transformed into special school-resource centers.
One of the main issues is the provision of a transit environment that will help prepare a child with special educational needs to attend a school in his/her place of residence. The deputy minister informed that for 2 years, a pilot project to transform an educational complex for hearing impaired children into a resource center has been implemented with the support of UNICEF. , and there are good results: "We have started another pilot program based on international experience.
The program is implemented in 3 schools in the format of resource rooms.
Schools have designated areas where children with the most severe disabilities have the opportunity to spend part of the day receiving services. These rooms are only for children who cannot actually stay in the classroom for several hours. Their individual learning plans should clearly state which classes they attend together and which classes they attend individually. The risks are many. care should be taken not to isolate and isolate the child in that area.
And despite the risks, this is an attempt to improve the quality of inclusive education," Araxia Svajyan said. The Deputy Minister of Education and Culture also referred to the preschool sector, where, according to him, inclusive education has been implemented for 3 years.
"Today, 1,500 children of pre-school age are included in the inclusive education system, and it is obvious that this is not the complete picture. There is a lot to be done in the direction of identifying children, directing them correctly, working with parents, preparing them for school education," said the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture.
Inclusive education has also been implemented in pre-vocational and secondary vocational educational institutions, but according to Araxia Svajyan, the procedures here are different. "We need to think about the provision of micro-qualifications, the formats of service delivery, as well as the completion of individual training plans and the development of other procedures, taking into account the specifics of professional education.
We especially attach great importance to the messages received from the professional field, which will guide us to find the right answers to the mentioned questions."
Araxia Svajyan wished success to the participants of the conference and noted that the documented data will contribute to the improvement of policy development in the sector.
During the conference, a variety of theoretical and practical issues related to inclusive education and the exchange of ideas of diversity, equality, difference, best practices and research results and the latest developments and innovations will be discussed through the gathering of scientists, students, leaders, specialists in the field of special education from different countries.
