Education minister visits La Rosière crèche and Glacis primary school |08 July 2023

A partial view of the Glacis primary school

The Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin, visited two schools yesterday; the first being English River crèche in the morning and Glacis primary school in the afternoon, in order to discuss the challenges they face, and how to address them.

The visits were a follow-up to points raised at the recent public meetings chaired by President Wavel Ramkalawan in May and June.

At the English River crèche, head teacher Luciana Amedée said they had invited the minister over so the staff could share some of their concerns, which included the cleanliness of the school, and resources for the children.

They also questioned rare visits to the school by the ministry’s upper management.

“They were feeling a little bit rejected and that is why the minister came to us today,” she stated, adding Minister Valentin managed to speak with all the staff and listen to their concerns.

“The staff and I felt that the responses were positive and that there will be progress in the future,” said Ms Amedée.

According to Ms Amedée, the minister has stated that English Rivere school will become his project, where he will soon launch various activities, including a toy project. Another one will be the ‘chevalier’ project consisting of the little standing tables for children to do their paint work, writing and overall school work.

This was the first adopted for schools since last year. “We did not have it and I am really happy that we are doing this project, which will greatly benefit the children,” she said proudly.

Although the head teacher exclaimed she was surprised to see Minister Valentin and his delegation, she was grateful he made time for them.

“I did not take it seriously, until I started seeing them arrive this morning. When I saw the minister’s approach and his response to the teachers, I believe there will be a positive change.”

Minister Valentin visited all the classrooms, as well as the toilets where there were issues, the playground and the school’s general environment.

“Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with Minister Valentin’s visit. This is the first ministerial visit throughout my ten-year period at this school.”

At Glacis primary school, Minister Valentin met up with the management team. According to the school’s head teacher, Reine Bistoquet, the team put forward several concerns such as the timetable and lesson planning which “the teachers were finding it a little bit too much”.

Ms Bistoquet said they had a short conversation over the matter and the two sides have agreed to set a new date for further discussions.

Ms Bistoquet said the visit was a perfect launching pad and she would appreciate more frequent ones in the future.

“For example, today he met with the management team, but the teachers also have points they want to put across. I am also glad the minister is coming to us, instead of us always having to go to the ministry’s headquarters,” she added.

At Glacis, Dr Valentin visited several classrooms and spoke to a majority of the teachers. However, due to time constraints, he was unable to visit all the classrooms.

Sunny Esparon

Photos by Louis Toussaint