The Avinashilingam University for Women in coloration with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (US) is organizing a national summit on ‘Inclusion- Means or End’. This two-day summit, which will be inaugurated today, is being organised as a part of the Obama-Singh 21st century knowledge initiative (OSI), which is a three year collaborative project between the two universities.
Ahead of this summit, in her address to the media, Dr.Premavathy Vijayan, Vice-Chancellor, Avanashilingam University for Women said “It is everyone’s hope that this summit will build new friendships, expand everyone’s knowledge and initiate new partnerships with the goal to enhance education for children.”
“The two-day summit will focus on inclusive education. Currently, educational inclusion constitutes an international policy that promotes the rights of disabled children to be educated alongside their peers in mainstream classrooms. Inclusive education reflects values and principles and is concerned with challenging the ways in which educational systems reproduce and perpetuate social inequalities with regard to marginalised and excluded groups of students across a range of abilities characteristics and socioeconomic circumstances.”
“Hence, inclusion is linked with the principles of equality and social justice in both education and social domains. For us, inclusive education is not an end in itself, but a means to an end.” Dr. P. R. Krishnakumar, Chancellor, Avinashilingam University for Women said.
This two day summit will witness students, research scholars, academicians and professionals present their research papers on the theme of this conference. This summit that is being hosted ta this university campus will conclude tomorrow 6 January.