Newly appointed teaching assistants inducted |12 April 2021

The induction in progress (Photo: Joena Meme)

Twenty-eight participants of the now defunct Unemployment Relief Scheme (URS) who were already working in schools as teacher assistants have now been absorbed by the ministry as full-time employees.

An induction ceremony for the new teacher assistants took place on Friday at the Ministry of Education (MoE) hall, Mont Fleuri.

The induction, which took place in two groups in light of the health regulations in place, tackled matters such as professional practices, the job description with all it entails and human resource related subjects such as ethics and work procedures.

The aim is to prep the recruits for their new tasks, even though they have already started working since last week.

To facilitate the session were Cyril Pillay, the director general for Early Childhood Primary Education (ECPE); Rose-Mai Jolicoeur, Mrs Basset, Mrs Max and three HR officers.

A teacher assistant assists the teacher in the promotion of literacy and numeracy. These 28 new recruits were those with most potential and devotion, recommended by the head teachers of the respective schools in which they worked under the URS.

The availability of the teacher assistant posts which they now occupy was discovered by the Ministry of Education’s management budget exercise.

Apart from learning about their roles and responsibilities, the teacher assistants were welcomed to the important task of assisting in teaching children, especially since they will be able to participate in the early development of the children of Seychelles (from crèche to Primary Two).

They were encouraged to make the most of this opportunity so that they continuously progress and hopefully become qualified teachers.

Some of the new recruits, who are aspiring teachers, expressed their pride in their new career opportunity.

“We are very proud that we were chosen out of all the candidates and we are not going to waste this opportunity to develop our skills and further our careers in education,” said Shelna Pierre.

The only male among the 28, Collin Rose, who is currently a teacher assistant at Plaisance primary school, expressed his satisfaction with how effective and specific the induction was. He also spoke about how this job has helped him to grow as a person.

Iza Amade