VICTORIA, Seychelles — Despite a decade of growing enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in Seychelles, including a Guinness World Record achieved in 2022 when young Seychellois launched a high-altitude balloon satellite payload, the country must now embed STEM more deeply into the national curriculum to convert excitement into lasting economic and social progress, according to Xavier Estico, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation. Writing in a national publication, Estico acknowledged the achievements of the past decade while warning that extracurricular programmes alone cannot deliver long-term impact without structural reform in how STEM is taught and supported in schools.
The challenge matters profoundly for ordinary Seychellois because the future workforce, economic resilience, and the country’s ability to respond to climate change, technological disruption, and global economic uncertainty all depend on producing a generation equipped with strong analytical, scientific, and innovative skills. Seychelles, like other small island developing states, faces unique vulnerabilities that make science literacy not just an educational goal but a national security priority.
Estico traced the origins of Seychelles’ STEM push to 2014, when the National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation launched a national sensitisation programme under the country’s first Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and Strategic Framework, followed in 2016 by the National STEM Education Programme. Participation in the Global Robotics Challenge from 2017 and the expansion of STEM clubs across schools generated considerable momentum, yet national performance in STEM-related subjects continues to raise concern despite increased awareness and enthusiasm, according to his assessment. The deeper issue, he argued, lies not in a shortage of extracurricular programmes but in how STEM is integrated into the core curriculum at all levels.
For STEM education to truly transform outcomes, it must be fully integrated into the national curriculum at all levels, supported with adequate resources, teacher training, and sustained institutional commitment, Estico stated. Without this structural foundation, extracurricular initiatives remain effective at sparking curiosity but insufficient at producing the skilled graduates that Seychelles needs to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on tourism as its primary revenue source.
Estico called for STEM knowledge to feed into a broader national system of innovation connecting education, industry, research, and public policy, emphasising the importance of breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration across sectors to turn STEM skills into real solutions for national development. He pointed to the University of Seychelles and the National Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation as central to building the innovation ecosystem that the country needs alongside curriculum reform.
When STEM becomes a key driver of sustainable socio-economic progress rather than simply an academic subject, Seychelles will be better placed to face the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly digital and competitive world.
