WE ARE ALL EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW BUT DARRA ALLEEAR IS MORE EQUAL THAN THE AVERAGE SEYCHELLOIS!
Not so long ago this newspaper reported on the fact that Dara Alleear, the Mauritian born son of the Chief Justice, Vivekanand Alleear, had been granted financial assistance by the Seychelles Ministry of Education to study law in the United Kingdom. This was happening when the Ministry of Education was saying locally that it cannot afford to send Seychellois students to European countries because of the high costs factor involved. ‘Educational institutions in countries like South Africa and India is on par with their European counterparts. “Value for money” the former Minister of Education, Danny Faure is known to have said on SBC television in an effort at convincing the masses to see things according to the SPPF’s gospel.
Since the publication of the story about the financial assistance accorded to Dara Alleear, this newspaper have received countless accounts of Seychellois students who have been refused financial assistance to study abroad by the Ministry of Education. This is despite the fact that these students achieved excellent ‘A’ level results. One such story is that of Anabelle Chang-Ko. Anabelle is the daughter of Mr. Luc Chang-Ko, an active member of the SNP. Chang-Ko stood for the United Opposition in the 1998 National Assembly election in the district of Cascade. Mr. Luc Chang-Ko was the Director of Metrological Services at the time. Consequently his contract was not extended. He immigrated to Mauritius to find work to be able to feed his young family. Mr Chang-Ko is married to a Mauritian national; she is now a naturalised Seychelloise. Their siblings, two daughters and a son are all Seychellois passport holders.
On completion of her ‘A’ level studies at the College du Bon et Perpetuel Secours in Mauritius, Anabelle applied to the Ministry of Education for a grant to further her studies at university level. Her High School Certificate is exceptional by any standards; Economics: A - Accounts: A - Maths: A - and French: B. The Ministry of Education responded with a resounded NO! stating that local scholarships are reserved for polytechnic students only. The question that obviously begs an answer from this particular situation is: Why was Darra Allear treated differently from everybody else?
It goes to show that President Michel is building his reputation on rhetoric alone. In reality things behind the curtain are totally different from what they have been saying through the SBC TV, the Seychelles Nation and in public speeches. “A heart for every Seychellois?” Certainly not in the case of Anabelle! It is now clear that certain students who have put in the hard work and have achieved excellent grades are being overlooked to the extent of victimisation by this Government. It is time for the business community in this country to come together in establishing a Foundation to help finance the studies of students, with excellent grades. This Government is refusing to grant scholarship to certain individuals because of who they are or because they do not have the necessary contact to help them get a grant.
