VICTORIA, Seychelles — The Seychelles Business Studies Academy (SBSA) celebrated a decade of professional excellence and transformation during a ceremony held yesterday morning at the University of Seychelles auditorium, Anse Royale. Part of the ceremony included the unveiling of a commemorative plaque by two long-serving employees, Helen Belmont and Nilan Fonseka, and the recognition of 14 staff for their years of service.
Those honoured included director Josianne Bristol (12 years), Helen Belmont (26 years), Maria Solin (22), Midzy Ernesta and Telma Quatre (20), Rasika Basnayake, Nilan Fonseka and Deborah Drapcand (19), Alain Reddy (17), James Elizabeth (15), Seydou Sylla (12), Peter Too (11), and Vanessa Finesse and Oliver Bastienne (10). Some of the awardees had started when it was part of the Seychelles Polytechnic.
In her opening remark, director Bristol traced the institution’s history: from a school under the Seychelles Polytechnic, to a post-secondary School of Business Studies and Accounting, to its first Charter and first Governing Board ten years ago as a Tertiary, non-university Higher Education Institution. A major milestone was SBSA’s full institutional accreditation, achieved twice, with the academy becoming the first professional centre in Seychelles to receive this recognition in 2017. Outgoing chairperson Oliver Bastienne said he felt only gratitude, while Learner Council chair Eugenie Aglae said SBSA had been more than just a place of study — it had been a compass and a home. Education Minister Justin Valentin also attended the ceremony.
