On Thursday 26th October 2023, the National Assembly of Seychelles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education for the Teacher’s Parliamentary Learning Space. In attendance of this auspicious event was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Gervais Henrie, the Minister for Education Dr. Justin Valentin, the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Sebastien Pillay, the Leader of Government Business Hon. Bernard Georges, Hon. Philip Arissol, Hon. Kelly Samynadin, Principal Secretary Ms. Merna Eulentin, Principal Secretary Mr. John Lesperance, the Clerk of the National Assembly Mrs. Tania Isaac, Deputy Clerk Ms. Alexandria Faure, Officials from the Ministry of Education, and Parliamentary Staff.
The Teacher’s Parliamentary Learning Space is a network of teachers who will be able to participate in a specialized training held at the National Assembly, with the aim of improving the understanding of the functions of Parliament, Democracy, the role of Committees, and issues in Citizenship Education. The end goal of the Learning Space is to pave the way for teacher’s empowerment and the enhancement of Citizenship Education and improved access to information.
The Ceremony began with opening remarks given by the Deputy Speaker Hon. Henrie, in which it was noted that representative democracy truly benefits from informed citizens who understand how the parliamentary system works, which is particularly important for our educators and learners. Hon. Henrie emphasized the importance of the formalization of this initiative and gave his appreciation to the Ministry of Education for its steadfast partnership. A speech was then given by the Clerk Mrs. Tania Isaac, noting that this was another milestone during the 30th Anniversary of the National Assembly. The Clerk remarked that this Programme would be implemented and led by specialized parliamentary staff, with the pertinent aid of Mrs. Sandra Jeanne from the Ministry of Education facilitating the success of this venture.
A final speech was delivered by Principal Secretary Eulentin, in which she discussed the importance of connecting educators to the different technical aspects of the National Assembly. PS Eulentin thanked the National Assembly for its role in creating and spearheading this promising Programme and noted that the future of Citizenship Education was now on a clear path of enhancement.
The Clerk and PS Eulentin were then invited to officially sign the MoU, formalizing this collaboration, and displaying a firm commitment to the betterment of education in Seychelles. The ceremony then concluded with a souvenir group photograph.
