Education ministry holds first regional meeting on Mahé |02 December 2019

The education panelists and audience during the meeting for the central region of Mahé (Photos: Thomas Meriton)

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development on Friday organised its first regional meeting on Mahé, specifically for the central region.

It is however the third meeting to be organised so far. The first and second meetings were held on La Digue on Friday November 22 followed by Praslin on Saturday November 23.

The meeting on Mahé will be followed by other meetings in the northern, western, eastern and southern parts of the island.

The public consultative meeting was held at the STC conference room for parents from central region schools including Mont Fleuri primary and secondary, Bel Eau primary, La Rosière primary, Perseverance primary and secondary, Anse Etoile primary and La Retraite primary.

The panel consisted of the education minister Jeanne Simeon, principal secretary for early childhood, primary and secondary education Dr Odile de Commarmond, director general for primary Cyril Pillay, director general for secondary Odile Octave and other ministry officials.

Also present were the head teachers and school council members from the respective schools.

Points on the agenda included updates on issues raised during last year’s meeting, overview of primary and secondary schools’ 2018 examination results, new infrastructure projects and the TVET school, and public schools’ recently acquired autonomy.

In her opening remarks to kick off the meeting, Minister Simeon noted the importance of the theme, ‘Education: A shared responsibility’, which will be at the focus of this year’s regional meetings.

“We appreciate your contribution because the education ministry cannot accomplish everything by itself […] It is a concerted effort, a shared responsibility between parents, communities and other partners,” Minister Simeon highlighted.

“We are back here, like last year, to consult with our partners and stakeholders as well as to share with you our accomplishments over the course of this year and talk about the projects we hope to undertake in 2020.”

She explained that many of the concerns and issues raised during last year’s regional meetings were taken into account, discussed and addressed by the ministry during 2019, although not all have been finalised.

Following the various presentations by the ministry officials, parents were invited to voice out their concerns and provide their recommendations.

Elsie Pointe