Four Seychellois teachers on internship in diocesan colleges.

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Service Diocésain de l’Education Catholique (SeDEC) and the University of Seychelles (UniSey), four Seychellois teachers are currently carrying out a one-month internship in our diocesan colleges. These in-service trainee-teachers are enrolled in a B.Ed. (Social Sciences) programme at UniSey. They have been teaching History & Geography in the public secondary schools of Seychelles for periods spanning from five to 25 years.

Liza Arnephy, Thyra Fred, Natasha Hoareau, and Jeffrey Nanty make up this first cohort of trainee teachers from Seychelles. They have been respectively posted at St Mary’s College, BPS College, Collège Ste Marie, and Collège de la Confiance. During this international work-based experience (WBE), they will be expected to observe, plan, teach and reflect on Social Studies and Sociology lessons delivered in the above-mentioned colleges for lower and upper grade mainstream learners as well as for those of the Extended Programme. Each trainee is mentored by the head or an educator from the Department of Social Studies & Sociology. Trainees spend two to three days weekly in their respective diocesan college and on the remaining days, they proceed to MGI schools for the ‘Geography’ segment of their internship.

To greet the visitors and kickstart the experience in optimum conditions, an induction ceremony was organised by the SeDEC on Friday 19th May in the presence of two officials from UniSey, namely Mrs Annie Laurette (Head of the Department of Education, Language & Media) and Mrs Vicky Rachel (Senior International and Local Engagement Officer). Rectors and mentors from the four diocesan colleges concerned were also in attendance, amongst others, to present to the trainees a memento symbolising their integration within their respective school community.

Addressing the audience on the occasion, Mrs Annie Laurette conveyed the appreciation of her institution for the materialisation of this project which has necessitated successive rounds of discussions and various overseas visits to iron out all administrative issues and finetune pedagogical and logistical arrangements.

During her welcome speech, Dr Gilberte Chung Kim Chung, Executive Director of SeDEC, exhorted the trainees to make the most of this professional learning experience by participating in as many school activities as possible, besides their Social Sciences-related tasks. This point was echoed by Dr Pascal Nadal, Deputy Director of SeDEC and internship programme facilitator, who also drew attention to the importance of critical incidents for professional growth.

Dr Indra Persaud, Registrar of UniSey, intervened from England to underscore the benefits of such an international exposure as part of an undergraduate programme, whereas Dr Jimmy Harmon – Head of Secondary at the SeDEC – was live from South Africa to share insights into his own learning experience as a mature student who conducted parts of his doctoral study abroad.

This overseas work placement experience ends on 16 June. It is expected that over the coming years, other cohorts of B.Ed. trainees from UniSey will undertake a similar WBE in Mauritius