Constitution Day - National debate kicks off |24 May 2016

The first round of a national debate for educational institutions to commemorate Constitution Day started yesterday.

It was held at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Training Education (Site), Mont Fleuri.

The debate will go into three rounds under a different theme for each round. The theme for the first round is ‘It is the right of each and every Seychellois child to get access to education’.  The second round’s theme is ‘Each Seychellois citizen has to contribute towards the welfare of his/her community’ whereas and the theme for the third round is ‘It is the duty of each Seychellois citizen to protect, preserve and improve the environment of Seychelles’.

Four secondary schools – English River, Anse Royale, Belonie and Mont Fleuri – are battling to get a place in the finals which will take place on June 7, 2016 at the same venue. Students from professional centres will meet each other tomorrow to fight for a place in the finals in their category.

Organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the National Day Celebrations Committee and Sids Youth AIMS Hub (SYAH), the debate forms part of activities planned to celebrate our Constitution Day which falls on June 18.

Present at the event were Merida Delcy, the principal secretary for early childhood, primary and secondary education; Francesca Monnaie, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly; other high officials of the ministry and a panel of judges consisting of educators.

The debate is to ensure that all youths get the chance to voice their opinion in an open way. The students had to develop an argument for or against obligatory and free education in Seychelles.

During yesterday’s debate, the ‘against’ teams generally argued that public schools should be paid so children can be more appreciative of the service. They believe private schools are better because parents are paying. They even suggested that parents pay by installments if they cannot afford to pay in one go. They also suggested that children who do not want to go to school should be given the opportunity to go to work which they (the team) believe these children will still be contributing towards the economy.

As for the ‘for’ teams their arguments were mainly about those parents who cannot afford to pay for the education of their children. And because of that should the child be denied an education? And they also believe disciplinary issues can be tackled in public schools if parents follow their children’s education progress more closely. On the issue of allowing children to go to work if they are not interested in studying,  the ‘for’ team argued that there are already vocational classes in public schools which allow less performing students to engage in. And that if a nation needs to progress, it needs educated people.

“The debate is a platform to give all students on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue the opportunity to share their opinion and views on the different themes of national importance,” said Mrs Delcy in her short address for the occasion.

Through the debate, the students will get the chance to better develop the competencies of the twentieth century. These include reasoning, synthesising information, a critical mind, research, personal expression, oral expression of communication and writing and public presentation.