Rodrigues students on education tour in Seychelles |26 July 2023

A group of exchange students from Grande Montagne College Rodrigues are presently on an educational tour in Seychelles.

Yesterday the delegation visited the Plaisance secondary school where they spent one whole day interacting with the local students.

The team, comprising 19 students and six accompanying adults, arrived in Seychelles on July 19 and will be in the country until this Saturday, July 29.

Their visit is facilitated by the Diocese of Port Victoria and the activities while in Seychelles are being coordinated by Sylvia Stephen, a teacher from Plaisance secondary.

Jenny Kilindo, the Plaisance school’s head teacher, who welcomed the delegation yesterday, said it was a great initiative which allowed the local students to interact with their peers from another regional country.

“Today we have established a relationship with this group and maybe in the future our students will also have an opportunity to visit them at their school,” she said.

Jean Pascal, a student at the Grande Montagne College, said that his time in Seychelles has been a pleasant one.

“Seychelles is really quiet but other than that it is a lot like Rodrigues. However, the schools and the way the lessons are taught here are different from ours,” he said.

He added that he would have liked to stay longer on La Digue as it is a different kind of place from what he is used to seeing.

Collect Maurane, another student, said she has had a great time so far and had witnessed many similar aspects to Rodrigues. However on Praslin she was intrigued by the coco de mer and other endemic species in Vallée de Mai.

“Honestly like my colleague said, Seychelles is very similar to Rodrigue. However La Digue was a whole different scene due to the lack of motor vehicles on the island and their school had kindergarten, primary and secondary all in one compound. It was interesting to see this and the people are really nice and welcoming although some students seemed quite shy. I just kept asking questions and it was fun,” she said.

Marie-Laurence François, the head teacher of the Grande Montagne College, said the visit falls under a scheme where a selected group of students get the chance to discover other islands through an educational trip.

Seychelles was chosen as their first destination and the group comprises art and design students.

“We have come to look at how art and design is being practiced here and also the cultural differences and similarities,” she said.

She added there was also a project which will enable teachers from Rodrigues to observe teaching methods practiced in Seychelles, especially the teaching of English as a foreign language, to be able to identify their weak points.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the delegation’s visit to the Plaisance secondary school.

Diane Larame

Photos by Louis Toussaint