YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. By the initiative of Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan, Minister of labor and social affairs Mane Tandilyan and Minister of healthcare Arsen Torosyan on July 18 visited N92 inclusive kindergarten in Malatia-Sebastia administrative district, the Parliament told Armenpress.

The Speaker and the government representatives toured the kindergarten, got acquainted with the conditions, talked to kids and teachers.

The kindergarten, first in Armenia with a new model of inclusive education, opened its doors to children with disabilities and development problems in 2015. The reconstruction of the kindergarten has been carried out by the joint efforts of the state, the Yerevan City Hall and charity funds. Here all conditions exist for satisfying the healthcare, social and educational needs of the children.

Speaker Babloyan said the visit aims at getting acquainted with the multi-functional kindergarten model. According to him, the example of the kindergarten proves that the best results on early detection of disability and interference can be achieved if there is an inter-agency cooperation of social, healthcare and educational sectors, by the active participation of community authorities. At the same time the Speaker stated that this model is family-centered, meaning that children with development problems continue staying and living in their families.

Healthcare minister Arsen Torosyan also attached importance to the kindergarten’s activity and stated that it is a pre-school inclusive education model in Yerevan which will positively affect the future, development of life skills of children with special needs. According to the minister, this model should also be applied in schools.

Minister Mane Tandilyan touched upon the issues existing in the inclusive education system, stating that for her the most important is to get acquainted with the field and reveal the problems.

Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan attached importance to the work of specialists among the kids of pre-school age. He highly appreciated Ara Babloyan’s consistent activities on revealing the problems of the field and proposing solutions.

Speaker Babloyan thanked the staff of the kindergarten, by attaching importance to their responsible work.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan