Children’s Day messages |01 June 2016

‘Today is a day of fun and reflection for all children’

“Today children in all the schools across the country are celebrating Children’s Day through different types of recreational activities. It is a day of fun and joy and also a day of reflection for all children.

“In tandem with the celebrations, Children’s Day also provides an ideal opportunity to reflect on the progress that, as a country, we have made in ensuring that the fundamental rights of our children are respected and protected, without shirking our responsibility to teach the children their duties and responsibilities. Hence, it is of paramount importance that both students and teachers make time to reflect on the significance of the Children’s Day; to assess their school life and to ponder on the progress they are making as a school, in their effort to improve the children’s personal and social life.

“This year, I would like to renew my call for our children to dedicate themselves fully to their studies. Studying hard should be their priority and preoccupation for, as stipulated in our Education Medium-Term Strategy, ‘Mon Ledikasyon i Lakle Mon Lavenir’ (‘My Education is the Key to My Future’). This underlying theme is not only a wake-up call for our children to take their studies more seriously but also a bold statement and the important message that parents, teachers and other adults in our community should be conveying to all children.

“Indeed, who can deny that students who take their studies seriously usually have a winning start over their fellow students who do not?  Moreover, good social skills and the right attitude are the essential ingredients that will guarantee our children’s success for we have to be mindful that success in life goes beyond academic and professional achievement.

“Our children are today being confronted by so many harmful influences from an early age. Therefore, as parents and educators, we all have a solemn duty to inculcate in the children sound values that will strengthen the foundation on which they will develop the right attitudes and social skills that will help them make the right and healthy choices.

“As a nation, we have a common obligation and should work together as a team – parents, the school and the community at large — to safeguard and protect our children against all the ills of society. Parents, especially, should use Children’s Day as a stepping stone that brings them closer to their children and to reassure them of their parents’ love and protection. 

“I seize this joyful opportunity to congratulate and express my sincere gratitude to all those who are working tirelessly, with love and compassion, to educate, protect and promote the wellbeing of our children in Seychelles. The Ministry of Education remains undaunted in its mission to provide an enabling environment and best affordable conditions for every Seychellois child to have access to quality education and training. In return, we expect that all parents should do the necessary to ensure that their children take full advantage of the opportunities at their disposal, for them to learn and develop to their full potential.

“I wish all our beloved children a Happy Children’s Day 2016!”

Macsuzy Mondon

Minister for Education