Health and social workers who are on training at the National Institute of Health and Social Services (NIHSS) will as of next year have a new building as their campus after the completion of works on the new school.
The Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot, accompanied by President Wavel Ramkalawan, received the key to the new building on Friday.
"Today we were handed over the keys to the building, which means that we can start moving into it. So, for us we want the students of the NIHSS to move into the new building for the next school year," said Vidot.
The minister added that she is very happy with the work done and hopes that the new building and its location will attract more students to join the school.
"We are looking at getting more students into the health sector and with this new building, we will look at providing more courses at the school as well," she added.
Ramkalawan said, "I am extremely satisfied and thankful to Vijay for this gift to our children and to our nation. We recognise that this is one the biggest gifts ever given by a member of the private sector to the country and the nation is ever so grateful."
Work on the building started in March and is a donation from Vijay Limited, a construction company based in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.
Aside from getting a facelift with modern materials used, the building which originally opened in 1950, has a second floor added to it, to increase its capacity. It will house administrative offices, classrooms, laboratories, a library and more.
The owner of the company, Vijay Patel, said that all the work is done on the building and the only part left is getting the required power connected.
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"We have not had any issues with the work done and I think the fact that all the work required was done by ourselves, helped us to do it faster and now everything is ready on time," said Patel.
The NIHSS currently has about 240 students studying various courses at its current location at North East Point and the school's director Ebrahim Ali said that for most of the students, the location is an issue.
"Most of our students come from the south of Mahe and, therefore, have to take two buses to get to school, but now it will be an advantage for them, as the location of the new school is close to [Seychelles] Hospital which will also benefit the students," said Ali.
The NIHSS, which moved from Mont Fleuri to its current location at North East Point in 2011, is under the direction of the Ministry of Health. It offers courses in social work, physiotherapy, nutrition, midwifery and occupational therapy, among others.
Meanwhile, the current location of NIHSS is expected to go back to its original purpose and be used for the treatment of patients with chronic illnesses.
