VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Office of the President announced on Tuesday a new IECD board appointment, naming Dr Xavier Rose as chairperson and Mohamad Affi as vice-chairperson of the Institute of Early Childhood Development for a three-year term running from January 1, 2025. The IECD board appointment is one of the first personnel decisions of the new year and signals the government’s intent to refresh the institution that oversees care and pre-primary education for Seychelles’ youngest learners.
The new board matters because the Institute of Early Childhood Development is responsible for crèches, nurseries and the reception year that shapes every Seychellois child’s first experience of structured learning. Parents, early years educators and curriculum planners will look to the IECD board appointment to deliver stable leadership on teacher training, nutrition programmes, child safeguarding and the integration of Creole, English and French in the early years classroom. For the broader education ministry, the new board provides a partner to manage the pipeline from crèche to primary school, and for employers it is a measure of how seriously government treats maternal labour force participation.
According to the Office of the President, the other members of the new IECD board are Sonia Mancienne, Amelie Nourrice, Beryl Laboudallon, Mavis Lespoir and Ralph Agrippine, with Shirley Choppy continuing as chief executive officer. The IECD board appointment brings together clinicians, educators and administrators with experience across public service and the voluntary sector. The Office of the President described the line-up as balanced and capable of guiding the institute through a period of curriculum review, infrastructure investment and tightening child protection standards.
The Institute of Early Childhood Development was established to professionalise care for children under six and to coordinate what had previously been a patchwork of providers, including community crèches and private operators. Successive governments have framed investment in the early years as central to breaking cycles of underachievement and to supporting maternal employment. The new IECD board appointment therefore continues a policy direction that has enjoyed cross-party support, even if the pace of change has often been criticised by teachers and parents who have asked for clearer fee structures and a faster roll-out of inclusive education practices.
What happens next is a workplan. The new board must hold its first meeting, agree priorities with the ministry and publish a delivery timetable covering teacher upskilling, facility upgrades and the rollout of any revised early years curriculum. Opposition voices in past National Assembly debates have urged faster action on creche staffing ratios and a more transparent fee framework for working parents; the IECD board appointment provides an opportunity to address those concerns publicly rather than behind closed doors. Civil society partners, including disability and parenting groups, will be watching how the new chair engages with them in the first hundred days.
A formal swearing-in ceremony is expected at State House in the coming weeks, after which the board will issue a public statement of intent. The ministry of education has indicated that a stakeholder consultation on the early years framework will be opened in the first quarter, with submissions invited from parent-teacher associations and private operators.
Dr Xavier Rose takes the chair of the IECD with Creole classrooms and a Creole-speaking generation waiting to see what the next three years deliver.
📷 Image source: Office of the President — statehouse.gov.sc
