UniSey hosts induction for trainee teachers

Seychelles Nation - 15.03.2010
A group of 85 students who have enrolled on the University of Seychelles’ (UniSey) School of Education programme attended an induction session at their auditorium, Mont Fleuri, last week.

These students are following a two-year foundation programme leading eventually to a bachelor of education degree.

During the meeting, UniSey vice-chancellor Dr Rolph Payet spoke about the university and its policies, in the presence of School of Education head Alex Souffe, UniSey’s School of Sciences dean Dr George Ah-Thew and registrar Elvis Julie.

They gave presentations on a variety of subjects such as student regulations, code of conduct, academic calendar and allowances.

Dr Payet said induction is very important for students, as they need to know what is expected from them so they can enter the university’s framework.

He said these students were chosen according to their grades and they had to meet the entry requirements. They are made up of S5 school leavers and those who did not get the necessary grades after their ex-National Institute of Education exams and A-levels.

A-level students who have not performed well can resit the exams and then enrol on the first year of the degree programme after gaining the required grades, Dr Payet said.

“The foundation course is a special one, and we have decided to enrol S5 leavers as there is a great demand for teachers here,” he said.

He added that the programme will equip students with the basic and necessary skills, for example in English, maths, communication and research to better prepare them for degree courses.

The programme, which started on Monday, is certified by Cambridge University, and after achieving that level students can join the degree courses, Dr Payet said.

He said UniSey will help to raise standards in schools, but this does not mean there are no good teachers at present.

Since there is now a university here we can work more closely with the schools, and trainee teachers can do research here for the benefit of the schools, children and students.

“We want to train good teachers to bring about the change that we need in schools; at present there are many expatriates here,” he said.

During the degree course, students will get the opportunity to do their practical work here in our own schools, he added.

Dr Payet said there is also a scheme for teachers who have completed their diploma and advanced diploma, and this will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

He added that the university does not tap into the budget set by the government for primary and secondary schools. Instead, it uses the scholarship funds which have previously sent students abroad.

“Now we have a university here, and it is offering many courses at cheaper rates for the people of Seychelles,” he said.

The teachers’ training to graduate level will be done in partnership with Edith Cowan University in Australia, the University of London and the University of Reunion.

The School of Education is offering a four-year degree course in early childhood and primary education.

And those who want to teach at secondary level will be able to choose a three-year specialist subject degree that will be followed by a one-year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).

This specialist degree will be offered in a variety of subjects such as English, French, history and geography.

UniSey finance degree courses to meet our need

Seychelles Nation  - 19.02.2010
Representatives from the London School of Economics (LSE) have explained the finance and environment degree courses they will run through the University of Seychelles (UniSey) from September.

The LSE’s external studies dean Dr Ray Richardson and its external programme director Professor Rosie Gosling presented four degree programmes – accounting and finance, banking and finance, economics and finance, and geography and environment – to prospective students yesterday.

Present at the session, in UniSey’s School of Education auditorium, Mont Fleuri, were the university’s vice-chancellor Dr Rolph Payet, its School of Humanities dean Dr Gerard Adonis and Seychelles International Business Authority chief executive Steve Fanny.

Also there were UniSey’s School of Sciences dean Dr George Ah-Thew and representatives of banks and offshore companies.

In his opening remarks, Mr Fanny said many emerging and developing nations like Seychelles face challenges in banking, government revenue and budgeting, and the design of long-term financial strategy due to a shortage of specialist personnel.

“The government has responded specifically to the need for enhanced capacity in finance management, financial sector supervision and private sector finance through the setting-up of UniSey,” he said.

He said the university will play a pivotal role in building human resources capacity in a sustainable, economical and efficient manner.

Mr Fanny added that these courses, to be offered in collaboration with one of the top universities in the United Kingdom, will cover a wide range of skills to meet the financial needs of the country.

Prof Gosling said the LSE is a college in the University of London, which will provide academic support to UniSey.

There is a strong relationship between the LSE and UniSey, which started three years ago when Dr Payet came to London, she added.

Prof Gosling said the LSE is very pleased to work with an institution like UniSey, which is presenting many opportunities to the people of Seychelles.

The University of London provides opportunities for people studying abroad, and the first such programme in the Indian Ocean region started in Mauritius, she said.

“This university was the first to offer degree courses at a distance, and now over 47,000 students study externally,” she said, adding that the students here will graduate with a University of London degree. 

She explained that the LSE will be doing the capacity building – developing opportunities for students and also providing lecturers with the necessary training to teach programmes that are internationally recognised.

Dr Payet said these four courses are very demanding, and students need to have at least two A-levels with minimum B grades.

But students whose grades are not good enough can still enrol on the foundation programme and the university will prepare them for the course, he said.

“We are also encouraging students from the School of Business Studies to do their first degree in accounting, and then they can get an exemption when they follow their Association of Chartered Certified Accountants programme,” he said.

Dr Payet said both the government and private sector are willing to offer scholarships for these new degree programmes as demand is very high in these fields.

He said they already have a group of lecturers and soon they will recruit others for specialised courses like finance and accounts.

For the third year, UniSey will get foreign lecturers as the modules are much more specialised.

Trainee teachers to take education degrees locally

Seychelles Nation - 12.02.2010
Local students can now study for bachelor of education degrees in early childhood, primary and secondary education at the University of Seychelles (UniSey).

This has been made possible through a new agreement between the Australia-based Edith Cowan University (ECU) and UniSey.

The signing took place yesterday at the auditorium of the university’s School of Education – which will run the degree courses – in the presence of Minister for Education Bernard Shamlaye, dean of the Faculty of Science at UniSey Dr George Ah-Thew and senior officials of the two universities.

Vice-chancellor Dr Rolph Payet signed the agreement on behalf of UniSey, while the ECU was represented by Dr Jenny Jay, programme director for early childhood studies and acting head of the School of Education.

The accord builds on the long-standing partnership between the ECU and the Ministry of Education in training teachers overseas for the past 14 years.

In the past, yearly groups of newly-qualified teachers at diploma level went to the ECU to complete a B.Ed degree in two years, while under the new agreement the same degree will be taught at UniSey by its own staff. The ECU will oversee the courses’ quality assurance.

Besides delivering the degree courses, the agreement includes components on professional development of staff and student exchanges.

Delivering the courses locally will allow UniSey to reduce costs and to enrol more student teachers annually.
While in the country, Dr Jay – who is accompanied by Professor Cher Ping Lim, director of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education – met and had talks with staff and heads of programmes of UniSey and representatives from the Ministry of Education. They also visited the university campus at Anse Royale.

President sees steady progression UniSey campus

Seychelles Nation - 11.02.2010
President James Michel yesterday visited the Anse Royale campus of the University of Seychelles, where an ongoing R12.5 million refurbishment is due to be completed this month.

Mr Michel, who is the university’s chancellor, was accompanied by its vice-chancellor Dr Rolph Payet and its top officials.
He said he visited the campus to see progress as the former facilities of the Seychelles Polytechnic are renovated.

Among the facilities he saw were the lecture rooms, libraries, computer laboratories, conference room, offices, staff rooms and cafeteria. He also met students, who told the Nation they were happy to see him.

The President said he was reassured that work is going on well although there is still a lot to be done.
“This university provides opportunities for young Seychellois to get better education, skills and knowledge to be able to participate better in the development of the country,” he added.

Mr Michel said the university is a landmark in the history of Seychelles, offering more young people an opportunity to develop.

He said he attaches a great deal of importance to the university, noting that he announced plans to launch it in 2007 “and today we see the project has become a reality”.

“To me the university represents a major national project,” he said.
When I announced the plans, some said Seychelles was too small for a university. But the country has come a long way, making it necessary for us to have a university, he added.

He said with the university and the Seychelles Young Leaders Programme, we are putting the future of the country in the hands of our young people “and the future begins today”.

Mr Michel said once the refurbishment is completed, the university will have a much better environment.

Seychelles and the world are moving very fast, and it is good that the university has already opened its doors to students.

“Everything must have a beginning and we were in a position to start off, which we did in September knowing that the world does not wait for anyone,” he said.

He said being accredited to the University of London is a good beginning and a practice followed by many other countries.

Dr Payet said the university has plans to sell laptops to students at cost price, but there is as yet no supplier able to sell such computers at a reasonable price locally.

He said the university is delaying installing new and expensive computers in the buildings now being refurbished because the power supply there is not reliable. A contractor will be asked to redo the wiring to ensure that once new equipment is installed it is not damaged by current fluctuations.

Dr Payet said two of the 53 students who started lectures have opted to give up for various reasons connected with their sponsors.

The renovation work at the university is being carried out by the China State Construction company.