Government continues to invest heavily in education |20 January 2014

The Seychelles government continues to invest heavily in the provision of resources for all educational institutions and has recently purchased 600 new computers for secondary and post secondary institutions.

Education minister made this remark last Friday during the first ‘Sharing with Partners’ session at the Seychelles Trading Company’s conference room.

Minister Mondon said that by the end of the first quarter of 2014, all computer labs in all secondary and post-secondary institutions will be equipped with new computers.

She noted that this falls under the Medium Term Strategic Plan 2013-2017.

Other main points of the plan include: re-visiting the pastoral care system introduced in 2011 for it to be reevaluated and adjusted as required in 2014, a new youth engagement programme which will be piloted in secondary schools, the campaign against ‘Underage Alcohol Consumption’, the strengthening of the provisions of the conduct for schools within the context of the pastoral care system and in line with the social renaissance plan of action for education.

The minister added that on top of maintaining the strategies, in 2014 they will focus on punctuality and absenteeism, safety and security of the students on school premises, no use of mobile phones at schools, and not letting students disrupt classes to prevent others from learning or be disrespectful towards teachers.

On the ‘Values for One, Values for All’ (Valer pour Mwan, Valer pour Nou Tou) programme which also forms part of the Medium Term Strategic Plan 2013-2017, Minister Mondon said the youth department and the Seychelles National Youth Council, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and other partners are implementing a three-year programme aimed towards the promotion of values which are considered to be paramount for the continued advancement of our society.

“I would like to remind us all, ‘Children see, children do’,” she said.

Touching on quality education which is also one of the aims of the 2013-2014 plan, the minister reminded the audience that Seychelles is internationally commended for having achieved the goal of education for all with regard to access to education. She said while we have reasons to celebrate this success, what matters and what makes the difference is learning outcomes. How to accelerate learning is a major challenge confronting national governments and partner agencies today.

In 2013, two major ground-breaking exercises were conducted to assess the quality of learning in our institutions. The first one was a national dialogue to raise awareness on the Unesco General Educational Quality Analysis Framework (GEQAF). A subsequent GEQAF workshop was organised in July 2013 to adapt and use the General Educational Quality Analysis Framework to analyse major constraints in our education and training system. The results of the exercise have been used to design policies, strategies and interventions to address the identified constraints, through our medium term strategic plan. The successful implementation of the plan will bring a significant improvement in the performance of our students and in learning outcomes.

Other important issues outlined by the minister to be taken up this year are that members of the management team in all the institutions will have a teaching load. Every educationalist working in the ministry’s headquarters will be assigned to a school to work alongside the head teacher to ensure that learning is not affected. Head teachers will need to get their school council on board right from the start to try and see how best they can help in managing the situation.

The ministry will seriously monitor the use of curriculum time in schools and it will be very strict with the release of teachers and students during the year.
Health and nutrition factors, parental involvement, keeping children engaged in studies after school hours and parental engagement with schools are also important factors affecting children’s learning.
 
This is why the ministry is making the call for all to play their part in achieving quality education for all.

The ministry will also be focusing on teaching and learning conditions, classroom practices and teaching and learning processes and a purposeful environment in all educational institutions to ensure that there is stability and that discipline is maintained at all times.

“As 2013, we intensified our efforts to remain connected with stakeholders in education, our ministry remains committed to its mission but it will continue to need the support of all its partners in the collective endeavour of achieving quality education for all. In the words of the late Nelson Mandela ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.’ Let us all work together to give the best possible education to our children,” concluded the minister.

During the same session, education principal secretary Merida Delcy explained that the role of the ministry is to oversee the good running and effective functioning of all state schools and ensuring that educational policies are effectively implemented.

She said the ministry provides early childhood, primary, secondary and special school with services for comprehensive education and student support.

There were other presentations by heads of departments of the various sections in the ministry.