Chat with the principal secretary for Eductation, Dr Odile Decommarmond |17 March 2021

PS Decommarmond

 ‘Our appeal to students is to take their studies seriously’

Seychelles NATION: We have seen a 100% pass at the School for Advanced Level Studies (Sals) but with only 70 candidates. What is the ministry planning to do to have more students studying at Sals?

PS Decommarmond: This year Sals will increase its intake as it will make provision for a conditional offer for those students who have a good academic profile.

Seychelles NATION: Is Sals the main avenue or you divert students to other institutions? What is the plan of the government for furthering education?

PS Decommarmond: Sals is the main avenue in terms of academic preparation of students for further studies. Sals graduates also have the possibility to join professional centres for Advanced Diploma level studies in different technical fields.

Seychelles NATION: Will subjects like sociology, economy etc come back at Sals?

PS Decommarmond: The plan of the minister is to reintroduce some of the subjects that were removed in 2018.

Seychelles NATION: 17% increase in IGCSE. That's quite good compared to the results of last year. What do you think has brought about these results?

PS Decommarmond: The results are really encouraging and we hope to build further on them and now the focus should be on increasing the number of candidates registering for the different subjects. The improvement in results can be related to different factors. Some strategies that have been put in place for the past 2 years in terms of monitoring at the level of schools. It is also related to the fact that students spent quality time in their studies when the country was in lockdown.

Seychelles NATION: We can see there are the National exams and the Cambridge exams. Do we need two exams in Seychelles or can we just follow the Cambridge curriculum like in many countries?

PS Decommarmond: We need two exams because we have to cater for students who cannot cope with the level of international examinations. The cost of international examinations is very high, hence we need to select students who meet the set criteria to register.

Seychelles NATION: The results in French are quite good also but the National coordinator recommends for more programmes/activities at schools. What can you say about this?

PS Decommarmond: The French results are very good and the level of performance is consistent. However, the report indicates weaknesses in oral. More efforts are needed in this area.

Seychelles NATION: We can see the ministry is doing its best to accompany the children and the teachers through this pandemic. What message do you have for the students, teachers and parents?

PS Decommarmond: As the ministry is preparing for the reopening of schools, our appeal to students is to take their studies seriously. We need to do our maximum to make up for the loss in contact time. We encourage parents to guide their children and provide the necessary support both in their studies and in their behaviour. We expect teachers to do their best to help students catch up with their studies.

Vidya Gappy