Summary
Faculty members from Amity University Campuses, SNDT Women’s University, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore spoke on building a value-based education system
The conference was held as a part of Amity Human Values Quarter-2022
Amity Institute of Social Sciences (AISS) at Amity University, Noida hosted a two-day virtual conference titled ‘Human Values in Higher Education’ which concluded on April 27.
Organised as a part of Amity Human Values Quarter-2022, an annual event held during the first quarter of every year to celebrate the birthday of Amita Chauhan, the chairperson of Amity Schools.
The human values quarter aims to create the foundation for developing a value-based society through higher education and to develop the moral and ethical responsibilities of teachers in shaping the character and personality of students, AISS said in a statement.
Sharing her views on ‘Value-based Society with an emphasis on Persons with Disabilities’, Sujata Bhan, the professor and head of the Department of Special Education at SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, said, “According to the National Education Policy 2020, inclusive education paves way for an inclusive society which is basically a value-based society. Our society attaches a stigma to people with disabilities; there is rejection, prejudice and intolerance that disabled people have to face. Also, there are attitudinal barriers and a lack of opportunities for them, and they are not treated at par with other people.”
“We need to be highly sensitive and caring towards disabled people, our acts of love and kindness can boost their morale and they must be treated with great dignity and respect. Providing access to quality education, health care, recreation, and independent living are some ways we can remove the barriers towards persons with disabilities,” she added.
Speaking about ‘Foundations of Values & Ethics for a Just Society’, Shewli Kumar, an associate professor and chairperson of Women Centred Social Work, School of Social Work at the Mumbai campus, said, “Promotion of equality requires equitable redistribution of resources because the foundation of a free society is the equal worth of all citizens, as stated in Article 14-18 of the Constitution of India. As a right of citizenship, everyone is entitled to lead a life of dignity and respect. To become a good citizen, one must be accountable to all other citizens and communicate respectfully. Empathy, ability to connect, non-violence, maintaining boundaries and ethical conduct are the essential traits to inculcate human values in individuals to make them responsible citizens of the country.”
Sushim Dubey, a professor in the Department of Philosophy of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara under the Union ministry of culture, said, “A sound and value-based education system will develop humanistic, ethical, constitutional and universal human values of truth, righteous conduct, peace, love, non-violence and life skills. Lessons in service to others and participation in community service programmes should be considered an integral part of holistic education.”
Welcoming the guests on this occasion, Nirupama Prakash, the director of AISS, said, “Human values and ethics define the qualities of a person, an organisation or society at large. Educational institutions play a critical role in building an ethical society as the fundamental character of children is formed in educational institutions. Human values and virtues inculcated in the students in educational institutions heavily influence the future generations.”
A free health check-up camp was organised at Amity for health screening of the faculty and staff members during the event.
Last updated on 27 Apr 2022
