In a step toward building resilience in education, Seychelles is intensifying efforts to digitally transform teacher training through enhanced collaboration between its Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). A recent national co-design workshop convened education leaders and practitioners to translate national digital policies into practical improvements in teacher development and classroom innovation.
The activity brought together 35 participants, including MOE officials, faculty from the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE) and the University of Seychelles (UniSey), board members of the Teachers Council of Seychelles (TCS), professional development facilitators, and teachers. The goal was to co-develop an Action Plan that ensures national digital policies translate into effective teacher development and classroom practices.
At the opening session, the Honourable Dr Justin Valentin, Minister of Education, highlighted challenges facing the sector, including teacher quality concerns, limited digital access, inadequate infrastructure, and a shrinking teacher pipeline. The Minister called for a rethink of teacher training using school-based and digital strategies and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to working closely with COL to advance this agenda while emphasising the need for a holistic approach to teacher development.
Workshop sessions explored international case studies and examined how Open Educational Resources (OER) and Generative AI can strengthen local teacher development. Participants engaged in hands-on activities using COL’s AI-powered OER platform and developed practical action points for scaling innovation.
The workshop was facilitated by COL’s Education Specialist for Teacher Education, Dr Betty Ogange, alongside local resource persons from the MOE. Dr Ogange remarked, “Digital transformation is not just about technology, but about systems change, aligning policy, infrastructure, and people to create lasting impact.”
In other activities related to digital transformation in teacher education, Dr Ogange met with the Executive Team at the MOE to discuss priorities in the COL-MOE collaboration and progress in the COL-AFTRA Beyond Numbers – a Pan-African project currently being implemented by COL and the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authorities (AFTRA) in Botswana, Nigeria, Seychelles and South Africa. She later visited Anse Royale Secondary School, where teachers shared insights on their professional development experience, underscoring the importance of grounding reforms in actual school-level realities.
Image caption: (Photo 1) The Honourable Dr Justin Valentin, Minister of Education, Seychelles, with Dr Betty Ogange, Education Specialist: Teacher Education COL. (Photo 2) Participants at the co-design workshop on digital transformation in teacher education.
