Ile Persévérance secondary school opens officially |02 June 2018

Pupils, teachers, other staff members and parents of Ile Persévérance Secondary School yesterday welcomed President Danny Faure, Vice-President Vincent Meriton, several ministers among a large number of distinguished guests to share in their double joy on Children’s Day - the official opening of their school.

Also present were National Assembly Speaker Nicholas Prea, president of the Court of Appeal Francis MacGregor, leader of Government Business in the National Assembly Charles Decommarmond, members of the National Assembly.

The mood was festive with poem recitals, songs by the school’s choir and well-known singer Patrick Victor accompanied by the choir who led the audience to reflect on the importance of responsibility of adults for our children’s education and future with his ever popular song entitled Donn li en rev.

Education and Human Resource Development Minister Jeanne Siméon and President Danny Faure unveiled the commemorative plaque to officially open the establishment which received its first pupils at the start of the new school year in January.

Altogether 596 pupils - 291 boys and 309 girls - from different districts and 44 members of staff started their journey in this new establishment at the beginning of the first term this year.

The foundation stone for the Ile Persévérance secondary school was laid on March 10, 2016 and the project, which has cost around R60 million, has been funded partly through loans from Badea (Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa), Ofid (Opec Fund for International Development) and the government of Seychelles.

The construction project was implemented by Saifu, a Chinese building contractor, under the close supervision of the department of Project Implementation in the Ministry of Habitat, Lands, Infrastructure and Land Transport and the Infrastructure Resource Planning Division in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development.

The school has been artistically designed and crafted with a unique architecture while respecting the standards and norms set by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development for the construction of secondary education level institutions.

“Today is indeed a proud moment for students, parents, teachers, and residents of Ile Persévérance and Seychelles as a whole,” Minister Siméon said in remarks before officially declaring the establishment open.

She noted that the opening of the school is the culmination of 18 months of hard work, uncertainties at times but all in all it is a great achievement for the education system in our country. She said the establishment signifies the government’s high investment in the education of our young people.

“Modern facilities improve not only the school’s physical environment but also its learning culture but the building alone cannot inspire the vision, passion and aspirations that guide the school’s development. It is the human spirit, the teamwork, the interactions between teachers, students and parents which will make a difference and ensure the new building supports quality learning and becomes a highly performing educational institution,” Minister Siméon stressed, noting that the school management team should not for one moment feel they are alone.

“I urge all partners, parents, district authorities to join forces with the school and set the model of good practice for parental and community involvement and participation for other districts to emulate,” Minister Siméon pointed out.

The education minister also called on the students to make the most of the conducive learning environment to engage and commit themselves fully in their studies to become responsible and successful students with a high level of discipline and good behaviour.

“In the school we cannot tolerate students who just want to kill time, cause trouble, misbehave, and disrespect teachers and fellow students. The new school presents you with new opportunities, therefore you should change your ways, adopt new and better approach to your studies, be responsible, serious and productive and live good values,” Minister Siméon told the students.

She also called on them to refrain from vandalising their new school but instead try to keep it clean and new and an example to be followed.

As for the parents, Minister Siméon called on them to play their role as the first educators of their children.

“As parents you should set the rules and regulations for your children to follow, let them know what is expected of them. At a time when children are faced with a lot of bad influences and guiding them on the right path is becoming more challenging for parents and teachers, parents should remain focus on their roles, responsibility and mission towards their children and should support the school and take part in activities that are organised to support their children,” Minister Siméon stressed.

Addressing guests, the first head teacher of Ile Persévérance secondary school, Cecile Marcel said: “I know that all members of staff, students and parents share the same joy and pride because we’ve made history”.

Ms Marcel admitted that when school started at the new establishment it was not easy to manage so many students and a mix of different ways of doing things coming from so many different schools.

“However, with perseverance, devotion and the spirit of togetherness we managed to inculcate in our students our own school culture.

“My dear colleagues, we have come a long way in transforming this empty building into a functioning school with a shared vision and mission, a motto, our own flag, song and above all a group of 32 trained peer educators,” Ms Marcel stressed, noting that the journey ahead is still long as they are yet to empower their students to be more responsible, productive, lifelong learners and citizens.

“We shall leave no one behind as our mission is to promote the application of knowledge, skill and core values necessary for every student to be responsible and self-driven to achieve their personal best,” Ms Marcel affirmed, calling on the support and cooperation of all parents and other stakeholders within the community.

“It is only through joint effort and perseverance that we will excel in whatever we do to make our school one of the best in the country,” said Ms Marcel.

She expressed heartfelt appreciation to the government for the most beautiful school in the country and for all the effort and resources spent to see the project come to fruition.

She also thanked all the parents and sponsors for their support and called for more parents to come onboard and be part of the school.

Father Brian Volcère and Father Louison blessed the school, pupils and staff. Both President Faure and Minister Siméon received a gift from the pupils.

Parent Marylyn Henrie presented a vote of thanks on behalf of the parents and the ceremony ended with Ms Marcel leading the distinguished guests on a guided tour of the school’s modern facilities.