Teachers’ Week 2019 officially launched |01 October 2019
‘Aspiring Teacher programme must be strengthened’
This year’s Teachers’ Week was officially launched yesterday afternoon at the Port Glaud primary school to mark the start of activities to acknowledge, evaluate, enhance and celebrate teachers in the country.
The Minister for Education and Human Resource Development Jeanne Simeon launched the 29th Teachers’ Week during a beautiful ceremony hosted by the west-coast primary school, in line with the ministry’s efforts to decentralise the celebration of Teachers’ Week.
Last year’s Teachers’ Week kicked off at the La Digue school, under the same theme as this year: ‘Education - A Shared Responsibility’.
Meanwhile this year’s international theme for Teacher’s Day, which is observed on October 5, is ‘Young Teachers, the Future of the Profession’.
Yesterday’s event was attended by the principal secretary for education Odile De Commarmond, principal secretary for human resource development Linda Barallon, Port Glaud’s district administrator Leonne Florentine, heads of schools, management committee for Teachers’ Week, school council members, teachers and students on the Aspiring Teacher programme.
In her speech for the occasion, Minister Simeon explained that the theme ‘Education - A Shared Responsibility’ has been retained for yet another year due to its continued relevance.
Minister Simeon also noted that the 2019 Teachers’ Day international theme, ‘Young Teachers, the Future of the Profession’, is a powerful reminder for all countries to seriously reflect and take immediate action to ensure that all educational institutions are adequately staffed and resourced.
This, she further highlighted, would not only enhance the quality of the education system but also help achieve the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (Cesa) 2016-2032 and objective four of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In the context of Seychelles, the minister noted that the ministry is conscious of the ageing teaching work force as well as the considerable number of unqualified personnel in the system.
“Our main challenge is how to staff the classrooms with a stable and sustainable teaching workforce, which is responsive to complex student needs and the growing demands of society in the face of global challenges.”
“It is becoming more and more difficult to attract young candidates of good academic profile and aspiration to take up teaching as a career,” Minister Simeon highlighted.
In that regard, Minister Simeon stressed the need to strengthen and sustain the Aspiring Teacher programme since it is one of the ministry’s main strategies to nurture and encourage young people into the teaching profession.
The Aspiring Teacher programme was launched in 2015 and aims to attract students from Secondary 3 to Secondary 5, from the School of Advanced Level Studies (Sals) as well as from other professional centres who might aspire to become teachers.
The programme includes mentorship and internship initiatives.
Addressing the programme’s members present at the ceremony, Minister Simeon said: “Teaching is a noble profession. My sincere wish is that you stick to your decision, be a teacher and do us proud. Walk in the steps of those who taught or are teaching you and help prepare the ones who will follow you.”
Two young teachers – Vanessa Seth, head of the social science department at Pointe Larue secondary and Roveson Pillay from Perseverance secondary – spoke of their journeys into and in the teaching profession.
Thirty-year-old Ms Seth walked the audience through her challenges and successes up to now.
Roveson Pillay, who graduated the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (Site) with the President’s Cup in 2018, gave a presentation on the importance of choices.
The ceremony also included a number of reflections, songs, poems and entertainment.
The 2019 Teachers’ Week will include various activities organised on institutional and national levels such as an education forum for teachers, the Site open day and celebrations at each school across the country on Friday.
The highlights will be the Teacher’s Day Award ceremony on Thursday and a Teacher’s Gala on Saturday.
The accompanying photographs show some highlights of the launch ceremony yesterday.
