Praslin and La Digue S5 students’ educational visits to professional centres |12 April 2025

Education ministry to bear cost of trips to Mahé

Education Minister, Dr Justin Valentin, has announced that the government will provide financial support to ease the travel of secondary five students from the inner islands to Mahé for educational visits to the professional centres during the school year.

He made the announcement to secondary five (S5) students on Praslin during a school visit on Monday April 7, 2025. This initiative will offer students from Praslin and La Digue the opportunity to visit various education and training institutions, attend career-related events, and explore different professional centres on Mahé.

The aim is to better prepare students to make informed decisions before enrolling in a post-secondary institution. Dr Valentin acknowledged that while these visits are highly beneficial for students’ career planning, the associated costs often pose a challenge for some parents – a gap the government now seeks to address through this support.

This announcement followed several requests, which students had previously made to President Wavel Ramkalawan and Minister Valentin and more recently, the approval of a motion brought forward by Honourable Doyace Porice in the National Assembly. Consultations and research revealed that not all students were able to participate in such visits due to financial constraints, highlighting the need for government intervention to ensure equal access and opportunities for all Seychellois students.

The issue of financial challenges for these trips has been a long-standing concern, and this latest development has been welcomed by all stakeholders. Students responded with cheers and applause as they expressed their appreciation for the financial help and the chance to explore professional centres of their choice as part of their career guidance and preparation for post-secondary education and training.

Minister Valentin reiterated his commitment to supporting all students across Seychelles and encouraged them to strive for academic excellence. He further emphasised that this initiative will ease the transition process for inner island students wishing to pursue further education and training at a professional centre of their choice.

Since the Teachers’ Convention for Praslin and La Digue teachers in October 2023, the Ministry of Education has been continuously reviewing its strategies to maximise the participation of teachers and students from these two islands in national activities. Specific to S5 students, the Ministry of Education will also encourage the professional centres to conduct education fairs on Praslin or La Digue as a way of complementing the visits.

Contributed