Guwahati, Nov 3: Academicians, Professors, and Scholars of Psychology from India and several other countries have unanimously emphasized professional school psychology programmes to meet the challenges educational institutions are facing today.
They were of the opinion that school education must be inclusive of diversity in race, culture, community and religion and the challenges can be met by means of effective coping strategies in the scope of school psychology services by applying technological savvy. This significant discussion was held at the inaugural session of the three-day-long 13 th InSPA (Indian School Psychology Association) International Conference on “Technology in the Practice of School Psychology” which began here today organized by the Department of Psychology under the PQH School of Education, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya.
Held in a blended mode, the inaugural session of the conference was graced by Prof. Panch.
Ramalingam, Director in Charge, UGC-MMTTC, Pondicherry University & President, InSPA; Dr Ariz Ahammed, IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Assam; Prof. Kiran Devendra, Head, Department of Elementary Education, NCERT, New Delhi; Dr. D. Rajendran, Secretary, InSPA; Prof. Narsinghen Hambyrajen, Professor of Law, University of Mauritius (online), M Hoque, Chancellor USTM apart from the participants and resource persons from India, Japan, Mauritius, Thailand and Malaysia.
The Conference theme is: “Science is built up of facts, as a house is built up of stones, but an accumulation of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house”. The
delegates also released the “Book of Abstracts” besides three more books, namely, “School
Psychology”, “School Psychology (Assamese version)”, and “InSPA Journal of Applied and School Psychology”.
USTM Chancellor M Hoque delivered a warm welcome address to all the participants at the onset of the Conference. In his Presidential Address, the InSPA president Prof. Panch. Ramalingam urged USTM to start a Department of School Psychology which will be the first such department in an Indian University. Dr Ariz Ahammed delivered the keynote address of the conference. Prof. Kiran Devendra also addressed the gathering during the inaugural session.
To promote School Psychology in India and to acknowledge the contributions and yeoman services by individuals or Institutions, InSPA has presented seven annual awards today. Shrimati and Smt. P. A. Sharma Excellence Award for excellent services in school education in the country was conferred upon Dr. Ariz Ahammad, IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Assam, Assam.; Prof. Devendra K. Choudhry InSPA School Psychology Award was given to Dr. Sushma Yadav, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Haryana (CUH), Mahendergarh; Prof. G.P. Thakur Memorial Award for Outstanding Leadership went to Prof. Anand Kumar, Professor of Psychology, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi; InSPA P. K. Subbaraja Trust Best Performance Award was given to Dr. Jerina Begum, USTM; Dr. D. Rajendran Best School Counsellor Award went to Prof. Rajendra Singh, Government SDJH Medical College and Hospital, Chandeswar, Azamgarh, UP.
InSPA is a voluntary non-profit school psychological service society having more than 1,300
Members. The primary aim of the Association is to develop School Psychology as a sub-discipline, to promote value-based education and training to meet the needs of society. It is affiliated with the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), USA, and Asia Pacific School Psychology Association (APSPA), Malaysia. The inaugural session of the conference ended with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. Gayatree Goswamee, Dean, PQH School of Education, USTM.