VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Teachers Council of Seychelles, through its membership in the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA), has been invited to participate in the ‘Beyond Numbers’ project, an initiative led by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and AFTRA to scale up quality teacher development in Sub-Saharan Africa through Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Seychelles is one of four AFTRA member states piloting the initiative, alongside Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa.
The project seeks to develop a National Framework for Teacher Training through ODL, along with action plans and policy recommendations to enhance teachers’ professional development. A three-day workshop at the Coral Strand Hotel, bringing together over 50 key education stakeholders, was launched yesterday and will run until tomorrow.
Chairperson of the Teacher’s Council of Seychelles, Yasmin Umarji, said the project aims to create a sustainable teaching workforce by scaling teacher training through ODL and equipping teachers with 21st century skills through digitalisation. Principal secretary for Education Sector Development, John Lesperance, said the workshop is sponsored by COL-AFTRA, noting that the Teachers Council, which is responsible for registering all teachers in Seychelles, is receiving support from COL, and the Ministry of Education is fully supporting the project. “ODL will solve this issue by allowing them to follow courses at their own pace from home,” he explained.
