Polytechnic (1,600 students in 1991) for preuniversity studies or other training. In 1991 the NYS program was reduced from two years to one year. The total enrollment in that year was 1,394, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls. Those who left school but did not participate in the NYS could volunteer for a government-administered six-month work program, receiving a training stipend below the minimum wage. The NYS ceased operations in November 1998. Opposition From the time the NYS program was instituted in 1981, it was met with heated opposition and remained highly unpopular among opponents of René's regime. The Seychellois opposition opposed the program on the grounds that it allegedly indoctrinated young adults with the ruling Seychelles People's Progressive Front's socialist ideology and that it rarely allowed its participants to visit their families. Pressure from international organizations forced the government to make the program optional. The NYS campuses were located on Ste. Anne Island, and at Port Launay and Cap Ternay on Mahé island (though the Sainte Anne campus was closed later). During the early years of the program, students spent the entire period away from home, with parental visits permitted only during designated 12-hour periods twice per month. The number of parental visits and home visits were increased in later years. Many considered the quality of education to be inferior, with the indoctrination in the socialist policies of the SPPF part of the core curriculum during the beginnings of the NYS. Nevertheless, failure to attend the NYS made it difficult to proceed to more advanced study. Due to the perceived inadequacies of the NYS and/or opposition to the ideology of the regime, many wealthier families in Seychelles sent their children abroad to Europe or Australia for education during this period. Nevertheless, the program was deemed particularly effective for students of poorer backgrounds, and provided skills, education, and safety they were not afforded at home. References Society of Seychelles History of Seychelles Youth wings of communist parties Youth organizations established in 1979