In early November, COL supported the Teachers Council of Seychelles by strengthening national teacher professional development through Open and Distance Learning (ODL). A three-day training workshop on implementing and managing ODL programmes for teachers brought together 71 participants (47 female/24 male), including practising teachers and representatives from the University of Seychelles, the Ministry of Education (Ministry of Education Seychelles), the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education, and the Teachers Council of Seychelles.
Through its Beyond Numbers Project Phase 2, COL provided technical assistance, facilitation expertise and strategic guidance to help the Teachers Council in integrating ODL into its national Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme. With a focus on the practical use of Moodle as a scalable and sustainable platform, the workshop operationalised Seychelles’ National CPD Framework, which was developed in February 2025, by demonstrating how its competency areas can be effectively implemented in Moodle environments.
Participants aligned professional standards with digital tools, mapped competencies to Moodle activities and resources, designed digital learning and assessment tasks, reflected on their teaching practices, and developed practical action plans for sustainable, framework-aligned CPD delivery.
The opening session highlighted Seychelles’ transition from conceptual design to practical implementation of digital teacher development. Mrs Yasmin Umarji, Chairperson of the Teachers Council, reinforced the human-centred focus of the Beyond Numbers initiative, stating, “Beyond Numbers is not about statistics; it is about people, teachers whose professionalism and adaptability shape our nation’s learning outcomes.” She urged participants to embrace innovation as the country moves from policy design to real-world implementation within its digital learning ecosystem.
Highlighting national progress, Mr John Lesperance, the Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Education, reflected on key milestones in Seychelles’ ICT and ODL reforms and described Phase 2 of the initiative as a turning point for institutionalisation. “Phase 2 is our transition from framework design to national implementation, ensuring continuous, technology-supported, and inclusive learning for every teacher.”
Dr Evode Mukama, Adviser: Teacher Education at the Commonwealth of Learning underscored the broader significance of the initiative for sustainable development of the teaching profession. “By integrating the National CPD Framework with Moodle Cloud, Seychelles is demonstrating how ODL can become a powerful engine for improving the quality, relevance, and sustainability of teacher professional development.”
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In October, COL President Professor Peter Scott led an engagement session in Ottawa with over 30 Commonwealth High Commissioners and other stakeholders, discussing COL’s work in advancing shared priorities in Canada and across the Commonwealth.
The session, co-hosted by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), focused on the growing need for educational cooperation as well as the need to leverage the strengths of the Commonwealth at a time when multilateralism is under pressure.
Read the latest issue of Connections to learn more about the outcomes from COL’s visit to Ottawa: hdl.handle.net/11599/6059
Canada’s Foreign Policy—Global Affairs Canada
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The Vice-Chancellor of Botswana Open University - BOU, Professor Kgomotso Moahi, reflects on what it meant for Botswana to co-host PCF11, and how the Forum enhanced national visibility, strengthened institutional confidence, and deepened global collaboration in open learning.
COL’s interview with Professor Moahi covers digital connectivity, skills development, authentic assessment, AI-enabled innovation, and her broader insights into how Botswana is leveraging open education to advance Vision 2036 and build resilient, future-ready learning systems.
Read the full conversation: www.col.org/news/pcf11-opening-botswana-to-the-world/
#PCF11 #Vision2036 #OpenLearning
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