It is 10 years compulsory and free school from the children is 6 years. The primary school is 6 years old, followed by a 5 year high school. In the first years, it is taught in the local Creole language seselwa, but English is introduced in the first grade and is the language of instruction from the fifth grade in primary school. It is taught in French from 4th grade. In 2003, illiteracy was estimated at approx. 8% of the adult population.
- A2zdirectory: Describes prehistory and early history of Seychelles. Includes history from colony to an independent nation.
Seychelles flag source: Countryaah.com
That same month, the Election Commission conducted a registration of all voters in the country. This was based on amendments to the Election Act, which included put a cap on the candidates’ consumption of money in the election campaign. The ceiling was US $ 18,000 for parliamentary seats and US $ 70,000 for the presidential office.
President Michel announced in early 2015 that he intended to run for another term. The next presidential election was originally scheduled to take place in 2016, but was accelerated to the ballot in December 2015. Michel won it by 55% of the vote already in the first round. Opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan got 41.4%.
President Michel surprisingly announced in September 2016 that he was retiring. Vice President Danny Faure was then inducted as new president. The change of power coincided with the opposition winning the parliamentary elections. In the parliamentary elections at the beginning of the month, Michel’s PP lost 17 seats in April and had to settle for 14. In contrast, the new election alliance LDS came in with 19, thus holding a majority in the 33-seat parliament. It was the first time since 1979 that PP did not have a majority. The opposition had boycotted the elections in 2011, but the 4 opposition parties had since formed LDS. It was now a political double power situation, with one party sitting on the presidential post and the other on the majority in parliament.