Ministry of Education reacts to viral audio clip from private school |05 July 2023

The Ministry of Education has expressed its concern over an audio recording being circulated on social media, emanating from ‘Trotters’, a private primary school in the country, where two women are heard talking, with one person making reference to an autistic child.

In a press statement issued yesterday, the ministry stated “it is very concerned by the language and intonations being used”.

“The ministry will never hope that its ‘Leaders’ in schools communicate in such a way,” the statement reads.

It further adds that “to ensure the wellbeing of students and teachers in schools, the Ministry of Education will seek clarification as to how this incident unfolded”.

Meanwhile following the audio, that went viral, the local organisation Autism Seychelles also posted a statement on its social media, strongly condemning “the use of derogatory terms when describing Autism and individuals on the Autism Spectrum”.

The statements reads that the “notion that we can refer to the condition as an insult has no place in our society. To do so is to reinforce the unacceptable concept that people with Autism are inherently less, that being compared to them is insulting, and that they deserve to be treated with ridicule. That is appalling. It should not be tolerated nor condoned”.

Autism Seychelles claimed the message being circulated calls for a reflection of what “we as a society think of people with Autism and developmental disabilities. It calls for accountability. Words matter. They should not be used flippantly. They should not be used to hurt”, it concludes.

Patsy Canaya