President Ramkalawan inspires Independent School students |18 May 2022

President Ramkalawan addressing the students (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

President Wavel Ramkalawan was yesterday a special guest at the Independent School to inspire the students who will be sitting their AS and A levels.

This activity is organised by the A-level students whereby they invite the parent of one of their peers to give a talk to inspire them about their future choices.

As one of the sons of the President still studies at the Independent School, he was invited by the organising committee and to their surprise he gladly accepted.

President Ramkalawan spoke about his childhood, youth years, his sports career and his studies leading to him becoming a priest.

“I have stood six times as a candidate to become President and in the last election, the population chose me as their leader. I do not know if I will stand next time but this will not deter me from continuing to serve the country and its citizens,” said President Ramkalawan.

He also talked about how each of the students should be focused and know what they want to do in life.

There were many questions coming from the students and the President replied to each one of them in a dialogue lasting 90 minutes.

He said one of his priorities was to make sure that all students go for further studies as we need highly qualified Seychellois for the country.

“I wish to put emphasis on the leadership qualities that you all need to develop in order to transform the country. Getting good grades is important but you also need to become leaders. We also want our young people to go and experience life outside Seychelles and experience the cultures of other countries. This is how you will bring changes.”

Replying to a question regarding the salaries of graduates, President Ramkalawan noted that there is a disparity in salaries in Seychelles that cannot be scientifically explained. We need to do a proper study and with the help of the International Monetary Fund, they will be coming with a better grid.

The topic of mental health and sports came up and the President acknowledged that there is an increase in suicide and we all have to be true to ourselves and to others.

“You are your own hero and nobody can take this from you. You need to develop a hobby and if you have one, everywhere you go in the world you will not feel alone or bored. We are also working on renovating the National Library which will actually help all the students to focus on reading and studying.”

Regarding teenage pregnancies, the students were proposing to start educating the children of Seychelles early on as statistics are showing that more and more young people are getting involved in sexual activities.

One young girl raised the concern of oil exploration as Seychelles is a champion in the fight to protect the environment, and the President assured her that exploration does not mean exploitation and he will look into that matter very closely.

Shariq Lespoir is in first year A-level and he shared that it was a privilege to meet the President. “My confidence received a boost and I learned how the society works. I am happy that he shared he was in the same position as we are now and everyone has to go through that.”

Hillary Lowseck, also in the first year, was happy to listen to the President. “He is an easy- going guy and I found he answered all our questions. He also has a plan for the youth and returning graduates. I care a lot about the environment and he does also. He will do his best to protect it.”

President Ramkalawan told the youth that he has faith in them and the sky is the limit, go get it!

It was indeed a good conversation and President Ramkalawan remarked that he wished his everyday meetings would be as enjoyable as this one!

Vidya Gappy