Education ministry signs three-year partnership with Renaissance |25 January 2020

Minister Simeon and her delegation with the Renaissance team (Photo source: MEHRD)

Renaissance,a global leader in pre-K-12 education technology serving educators and students in more than 90 countries worldwide, has announced a three-year partnership with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development of Seychelles, to improve student attainment for reading in English in all the country’s primary schools.

This expanded implementation follows a successful trial in five schools last year.

The announcement was made during a presentation and reception organised by Renaissance during the Education World Forum.

The contract for the implementation of the programme in all schools was signed by the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development Jeanne Simeon, on behalf of the government of Seychelles and the Renaissance International Partnership director vice-president, Peter Schneider.

The significance of the partnership was demonstrated by the signing of the contract being done at the celebrated venue of Lancaster House in London, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Ministers of Education annual event, under the auspices of the Education World Forum.

During the trial, the ministry saw significant increases in reading among 500 primary school students. Utilising Renaissance’s award-winning Star Assessments, Accelerated Reader, and myON products, the programme will increase the availability of books written in English and provide teachers the tools, resources and support to embed and teach literacy across the curriculum.

By increasing access to high quality engaging texts, this programme is designed to improve the culture of reading, as reading for pleasure is associated with many additional benefits beyond academic achievement.

As part of this partnership, Renaissance will provide in-country support and training throughout the duration of the programme to build knowledge and confidence.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the Seychelles’ Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development to improve literacy for their students,” said Chris Bauleke, chief executive of Renaissance. “The trial we undertook in 2019 allowed us to demonstrate the value our solutions deliver and we look forward to working with administrators, teachers, parents and students to truly embed and foster a culture of reading across the Seychelles.”

Minister Simeon said: “From planning the original pilot to committing to a full three-year project, we always had confidence that Renaissance had our and our children’s best interest at heart. Their ability to understand our needs and practically apply their knowledge and experience in our schools enabled us to gain maximum benefit from the reading programme during the successful pilot. The children of Seychelles have specific needs in order to reach their full potential, but through the strong and trusted relationship we have built with Renaissance, we are confident that the wider objectives of the full project will be met”.

Press release from the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD)