The newly renovated National Institute of Health and Social Studies (NIHSS) reopened its doors to students on Monday morning with a focus on teaching students to provide high quality health and social care.

The Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot, made the declaration at the official re-opening of the school located at Hermitage, in the district of Mont Fleuri.

The school has returned to its former premises at Mont Fleuri on Mahe, a building originally opened in 1950 as a nurses' home, next to the Seychelles Hospital. It is now equipped with nine classrooms, laboratories, and other office spaces and will accommodate around 240 students following different courses at the NIHSS.

Vidot said that the focus will be on "teaching students to deliver high quality person-centred care. The ministry will not miss any opportunity to teach them the values of good communication, compassion, competence, confidence and commitment."

NIHSS offers courses from certificate to advanced diploma levels in fields such as social work, physiotherapy, nutrition, midwifery and occupational therapy.

The school is now equipped with nine classrooms, laboratories, and other office spaces.  (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

There are areas that Vidot said are "so essential and so fundamental in providing quality health and social care."

Local businessman Vijay Patel's company, Vijay Construction, donated the $1.5 million building to the government after intensive renovations were carried out on the new school last year.

However, while Vijay Construction's donation paid for the cost of the rebuilding, the government is responsible for the equipment and amenities.

Seychelles' President Wavel Ramkalawan thanked Vijay for the donation, in what he called the 'preservation of a part of the country's history.

Minister Vidot also applauded the reopening of the school which she said is a dream come true and a celebration.

The institution's director, Ebrahim Ali, told reporters that the move from North East Point – where the school had been based since 2011 –  will "make their work much easier as our main service area, which is the Ministry of Health, is just nearby."

He also explained that it will "greatly reduce transportation and other logistics costs when the students go on work attachments."

With the NIHSS students moving back to their new premises at Hermitage, the building in which they were studying at North East Point will be converted back to the hospital for chronic cases.