President James Michel has officially opened Ile Perseverance North Primary School and Crèche at a ceremony held this morning, in the presence of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Vice-President, Mr. Danny Faure, the Minister for Education, Mrs Macsuzy Mondon, many dignitaries invited for this National Day celebrations event as well as the Head teacher, teachers, students and parents of the school.

In her opening address, Minister Macsuzy Mondon expressed her sincere gratitude to President Michel, who she said "who works tirelessly to deliver on his promises." She said the school  is more than a state-of-the art building and that ultimately the Ministry of Education wants to provide every child with an "opportunity to develop holistically and to maximise his or her potential."

"It is my dream therefore, that Perseverance North Primary will be such a school that will foster in every child the desire to learn and to succeed; a model school where parents play a major role in providing a supportive environment for their children to learn and a community which enrich learning through the additional opportunities it provides," said Minister Mondon.

Following the ceremony, Minister Mondon led the President and invited guests in a tour of the new school and they spoke to the teachers and students about their new environment.

President Michel said that he was deeply impressed by the new education facilities, adding that the new school is set to become central pillar of the Ile Perseverance community.

" Ile Perseverance is developing into a beautiful community, and this school is an emblem of the New Seychelles; a positive, modern and innovative school which will aid the progress of our children and this new district.... I can see the children are happy here and ready to learn. Let us encourage them to take care of their school and learn to love it," said President Michel.  

The school, which is the first for Ile Perseverance, welcomed 300 students from all the districts and 40 members of staff in March this year. At full capacity this new Primary School and Crèche can accommodate over 700 students.  It has a modern and multi-coloured architectural design, and is the first of its kind in Seychelles.

The project was  financed partly by loans from BADEA (Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa), OFID (OPEC Fund for International Development) and the Government of Seychelles, and cost a total of 48 million Seychelles Rupees.

In total, three schools are planned to serve the residents of Ile Perseverance; two Primary schools with their associated Crèche and one Secondary school. A secondary school and one more primary school will be built in the south of the island.