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THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION

National report of Mauritius

By

The ministry of Education and Scientific Research

09 September 2004

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National Report on Education 47th International Conference on Education

Geneva, 8-11 September 2004 1. The Education System at the beginning of the 21st Century: an Overview (a) Major Reforms and Innovations introduced at the beginning of 21st Century The Legal Framework of Education Education at all levels is governed by the Education Act of 1996. Regulations related to the pre-primary sector have been effective as from May 1997. Up to this year, education has been compulsory up to the end of the primary cycle: under regulation 37, subsections (1) and (2) of the Education Act of 1993, parents have to compulsorily send their children to primary school, failing which they are liable to a fine and imprisonment. On the other hand, education is free at all levels, right from Primary through to university level at the University of Mauritius. As from January 2005, however, education is going to be free and compulsory for all up to the age of 16, with the introduction of 11-year schooling. Accordingly, in the next few months, relevant changes in legislation will be effected. (b) Education Structure

Early development and education (0-5) is organized in two separate systems covering two distinct phases, with the infant/ toddler period (0-3) known as the Early Childhood Development placed under the responsibility of the Ministry of Women’s Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare, and the 3-5 year olds attending Pre-Primary schools under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. From Primary schooling onwards, it is a 6-5-2 system whereby the Mauritian child follows a minimum of six years of free and compulsory Primary schooling leading to an end of cycle examination called the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE). This is followed by a minimum of five years of secondary education leading to the Cambridge School Certificate (SC) or the General Certificate of Education – Ordinary level and a minimum of two more years to obtain the Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC) or the General Certificate of Education- Advanced level. The new structure today makes provision for students to follow HSC Courses in Sixth Form Colleges for the state sector.

For those students who have failed the CPE twice or who have reached the age of 12 but failed in the examination, a Pre-Vocational stream exists in secondary schools for a period of three years but with a specific, skills-based curriculum

Post-A level studies are characterized by students seeking admission to public or private Tertiary Education Institutions locally or overseas.

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(c) Principal objectives and characteristics of current educational reforms Mauritius is currently undergoing major policy reforms in education. This is in keeping with the felt need to increase both the completion rate at the Primary level and the enrolment rate at the secondary and tertiary levels so as to ensure increased output and thereby eliminate the wastage that the system has been traditionally fraught with. To achieve these objectives, a major Reform Programme, has been undertaken as from Year 2001 with a view to transforming the very landscape of the system. This is premised on the fundamental need to

• Guarantee a broadened access to quality and free education to all children of the Republic

• Offer equality of opportunities to all • Propose a more relevant curriculum for both primary and secondary levels so

as to optimise the diversification of disciplinary knowledge as a relevant response to societal needs (e.g., Citizenship Education; Information and Communication Technology-ICT)

• Improve the quality of teaching • Create the conditions that ensure lifelong learning.

This Programme therefore rests on three fundamental pillars:

Increasing Access Ensuring Relevance Promoting Achievement

These are seen as central to the overall objective of guaranteeing free and compulsory Education For All from age 5 to 16 by 2005. This section highlights some of the sub-sectoral reforms that have been undertaken. (i) Early Childhood Education The Early Childhood Education project in Mauritius has been the gradual building of an original, genuine, national system for pre-school education. Under this project, the Government's main long-term policy has been that all children of pre-primary age should attend pre-primary schools in suitable buildings with trained teachers, adequate playing ground and using appropriate teaching materials. The intention is for such schools to help to counteract inequalities in social conditions by providing an educational base for all, including socially disadvantaged children. The rationale for such a project is that the early years of life are crucial for the growth and development of the young child. If the child lacks the necessary care, affection and stimulation during this formative period, his or her capacity for learning and becoming a well-balanced and creative adult may be seriously impaired. Pre-school education is not compulsory in Mauritius. There exists a wide range of pre-school services available in Mauritius as shown in the table below.

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Range of Pre-School services

Pre-School Number % of Total

Private Settings

839 78

State-owned 174 16,2 Local Authorities

62 5.8

Total 1,075 100 The Gross Enrolment Rate in the pre-school sector of children aged between 3 to 5 years has increased from 95% in year 2000 to 99% in year 2004. 31,693 children of 3+ and 4+ are enrolled in the pre-school settings in Year 2003 The Government ensures equitable access of children to pre-school education through the following provisions:

A monthly per capita grant of Rs 200/ payable to children of 4+ who are attending a private pre-school. Construction of pre-schools attached to Government primary schools is

determined by the demand and supply mechanism with special attention to vulnerable and disadvantaged children in regions of greatest social need. From 2000 to 2003, six public pre-schools have been constructed in the least developed regions.

All private pre-school settings enjoy the freedom to operate their respective

pre-schools in line with Pre-School Regulations. Since 2000, the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the teacher training institution operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, has launched the Certificate of Proficiency in Early Childhood Education Course. This proficiency-based training programme is a very flexible proposal for practitioners who are currently working in the ECD/Pre-School sector. Some 1000 practitioners have completed this training programme and those who have been successful have started as from 2003 a one-year supplementary training programme leading to a Teachers’ Certificate (Pre-Primary). (ii) Primary Education Primary Education is both free and compulsory in Mauritius. While the Gross Enrolment Rate has declined from 108% in 1993 to 102% in 2003, the retention rate till the end of the Primary cycle is 98% with, however, a pass rate of 67%. The repetition rate at Standard VI (Certificate of Primary Education--CPE) has been reduced from 22.5%in 2000 to 20.8% in 2003. The Primary Sector has an automatic promotion system till Standard V. There are 278 Schools (of which only 17 are private and fee-paying) in mainland Mauritius scattered all over the island within a distance of not more than1 km for the majority of pupils, 13 in Rodrigues and 2 in Agalega. The enrolment ranges from 200 to 1200 pupils per school.

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The primary sector is characterised by easy access. It is enriched by the participation of different stakeholders – the Roman Catholic Education Authority, the Hindu Education Authority and private non-aided organizations. The pupil/teacher ratio at primary level is 23. In line with free education and for the promotion of equity, textbooks and workbooks covering all subjects taught in Primary schools and prepared by the National Centre for curriculum Research and Development (NCCRD) - that operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education- are provided free of charge to all pupils while all teachers have to follow a full-time pre-service training programme dispensed by the Mauritius Institute of Education. A Pedagogical Inspectorate monitors and supports teaching and learning to improve the efficiency of teachers. The Primary Curriculum comprises English, French, Mathematics, History and Geography, Science and one optional Asian Language (Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Mandarin) or Arabic. Apart from these examinable subjects, the school timetable makes provision for Citizenship Education, Creative Education, Information Technology and Health and Physical Education. Primary Education: Abolition of Ranking and New Mode of Admission to Secondary schools It is generally agreed that the major dysfunction of the Mauritian system of education had been the bottleneck situation created by the element of Ranking at the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) examination. This had been a major stumbling block to equity promotion as well as having had a deleterious effect on the quality dimension since

• It became an instrument of selection in the context of a dramatic mismatch between demand and supply for Form I places in a few highly regarded secondary schools;

• It was blind to the residential factor, admission to secondary schools for the

ranked candidates being carried out on a national basis; and • It perverted the very aims and objectives of primary education by giving rise to

a lopsided education focused on examinable subjects rather than emphasising the holistic development of the child.

The new strategy that has been adopted since 2002 has been the Adoption of the Grade System, whereby a new alphabetical Grade System has replaced the ranking system such that all children obtaining the minimum pass grades now join the secondary mainstream while those who do not achieve these after two attempts at CPE join the secondary Pre-Vocational Stream. On the other hand, to overcome the learners’ needless travel over long distances and at considerable costs to parents, a regionalization policy of admission to lower secondary schooling has been put in place as from January 2003. The island of Mauritius has been divided into four Zones while Rodrigues, a neighbouring island today enjoying its autonomy, is considered as a fifth, separate Zone, with each Zone combining rural and urban areas to ensure effective parental

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choice of a school for their wards. Education management has equally been decentralized such that each Zone is headed by a Director of Education and has effective administration and financial autonomy. (iii) Secondary Education The abolition of ranking at the end-of-primary cycle examination, the CPE, has necessitated the implementation of two important accompanying measures in addition to the regionalization of admission to lower secondary mentioned above, namely,

The Construction of New State Secondary Schools The number of these has increased from 34 in 2000 to 67 in 2004, i.e., nearly doubled in Mauritius, while, for Rodrigues, the State institutions operating under the Rodrigues Education Company (REDCO) have increased from 3 to 5. While the 67 State Schools are directly under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, “private colleges”, which are publicly funded institutions run by individuals or private organizations, are monitored by the Private Secondary Schools Authority (PSSA) which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. At present, a total of 109 private secondary schools in Mauritius and Rodrigues are registered with the Authority.

Transformation of high demand Secondary Schools into Sixth Form Colleges To make of Education for All up to the age of 16 a reality, the secondary school cycle has been divided into two phases:

• Form I-V Secondary Schools whereat schooling will be compulsory up to the age of 15, and as against Sixth Form Colleges whereat schooling will be optional;

• Admission to Form I-V Secondary schools is regional whilst that to Sixth Form

Colleges is national. • All State secondary Schools not transformed into Sixth Form colleges offer only

Form I-V classes and, as from 2003, sixth Form colleges no more have a Form I intake.

Tertiary Education The Tertiary Education System in Mauritius is characterised by a wide range of providers, provision and levels of programmes. Within the public sector, tertiary education revolves around nine institutions: the University of Mauritius (UoM), the University of Technology Mauritius (UTM), the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) and the Mauritius College of the Air (MCA), the Swami Dayanand Institute of Management (SDIM) and “l’Institut Supérieur de Technologie” as well as the Industrial and vocational Training Board (IVTB) and the Mauritius Institute of Health (MIH) which also dispense tertiary level programmes in selected areas.

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Overall, the range of programmes is quite diversified and includes agriculture, engineering, law and management, science, and social studies and humanities. These are offered at certificate, diploma, degree, masters and doctoral levels and on a part-time, full-time as well as through flexible distance modes. The UoM and the UTM are the two only degree awarding institutions in the country. The MIE, which is involved in teacher training and the MGI, in Indian languages and Performing Arts also run degree programmes but jointly with the UoM. A Bachelor degree usually takes three years to complete, while programmes leading to a doctoral, which is exclusively through research, may require between three to five years on a full-time basis. In addition to the above publicly-funded institutions (PFIs), an estimated 30 private institutions and 50 overseas institutions/bodies deliver tertiary-level programmes, mostly in niche areas like Information Technology, Law, Management, Accountancy and Finance. A majority of these private institutions operate on a part-time basis, in the evenings, weekends and on some weekdays with relatively small student cohorts. Most, if not all, of the programmes they offer are those of overseas institutions. These are being delivered through franchise agreements whereby the overseas institutions provide programme materials and/or tutorial support. Apart from playing an administrative role, the local partners also provide tutorial support and in certain cases using exclusively their own resources. The local tertiary education scene also comprises two tertiary education institutions with a regional vocation, namely the University of the Indian Ocean (UIO) and the “Institut de la Francophonie pour l’Entrepreneuriat (IFE)” and two private colleges, namely the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College (SSRMC) and a Dental College. The activities of these institutions are geared towards programmes in specific disciplines. Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) and the National Qualifications Framework

In the wake of the rapid development taking place in the private provision of tertiary education locally, two institutions have been created by the Government, namely the Mauritius Qualification Authority and the National Accreditation and Equivalence Council ,set up to look after aspects of quality and accreditation. The Mauritius Qualifications Authority has been established with the objectives of developing, implementing and maintaining a National Qualifications Framework for an effective certification system, ensuring compliance with provisions for registration and accreditation as per the MQA Act 2001 and ascertaining that standards and registered qualifications are internationally comparable. It is responsible for the formulation of policies for the registration and accreditation of bodies responsible for establishing, monitoring and auditing national standards and qualifications. It is also called upon to register qualifications obtained from primary to tertiary levels, register and accredit training institutions, recognize and validate competencies for purposes of certification obtained outside the formal education and training systems, generate national standards for any occupation, keep a database of learning accounts and publish an annual list of registered unit standards, qualifications and training institutions. The MQA ensures that all education/training provided are of high quality.

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NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK (NQF) The NQF has been established to bring about a reform of our training system. The Framework encompasses all qualifications from CPE to PhD, widening access and giving greater opportunity to learners thus providing parity of esteem between academic and vocational qualifications with a view to harmonize all qualifications. The underlying rationale of the NQF is that it would open up learning and career pathways for all Mauritians, whatever their previous formal education, training or work experience. The NQF consists of 10 levels, starting with Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) at level 1 and ending with the PhD at level 10 and is made up of unit standards and qualifications. Level descriptors provide broad descriptions of learning outcomes at a given level of knowledge, skill and competence. The NQF ensures greater articulation between education, training and the world of work. It would see to it that training responds to standards set up by industry and as the same time encourages lifelong learning through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and flexible delivery of training. THE MAURITIUS RESEARCH COUNCIL The Mauritius Research Council (MRC), as per the MRC Act 1992, was set up as an apex body to promote and coordinate Governments investment in research. The MRC acts as a central body to advise Government on Science and Technology issues and to influence the direction of technological innovation by funding research projects in areas of national priority and encouraging strategic partnerships. Research Priorities After national consultative meetings with stakeholders, the following areas have been identified as national priorities:

• Land and Land Use • Water Resources • Energy and Energy Efficiency • Marine Resources • Biomedical Research • Biotechnology • Manufacturing Technology • Science & Technology Education • Information & Communications Technology

Research Grant Schemes Through a number of innovative research grant schemes, the Council has sponsored over 200 research projects in the field of science and technology, economic and social. Special schemes to involve the private sector in undertaking research have also been introduced.

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Science Education Further to surveys carried out to assess the status of the teaching and learning of science in primary and secondary schools of Mauritius, the MRC has, as mandated by the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, come up with a Report in July 2004 with recommendations to increase the relevancy of science and enable a scientifically and technologically literate nation. (CD accompanies this Report.) 2. MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS Since 2001, a number of changes have been evident in the educational system. In this section, these will be examined in the light of the three axes underpinning the Reform Programme, namely, Access, Relevance and Achievement (I) Improvement of Access Pre-primary Since 2001, 6 new Pre-primary units have been created in the Government Primary schools and enrolment rate for children aged 4 to 5 are increased from 95% in 2000 to 99% in 2003. Secondary Education With a view to increasing access to secondary education, in addition to the construction of new State Secondary Schools that have increased from 34 in 2000 to 67 in 2004, a policy of “Parity of Esteem” with regard to State and Private Secondary School is being pursued in the name of equity. Pre-Vocational Education Inspite of a Gross Enrolment Rate of 103% and a completion rate of 98% at the primary level, the ranking system which was a product of a lack of quality secondary schools led to a chronic failure rate averaging 35% among the cohort of Primary School leavers.

Efforts had been made in the past to provide pre-vocational training to CPE failures through such means as the Community School Project, the Basic Secondary School, the Pre-Vocational Training Centre, the State Secondary Schools (Vocational)(SSSv). It is the Pre-Vocational Education System operational since 2002 that has been able to capture the majority of CPE failures

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Intake of students into Pre-Vocational Education before and after reforms Year of

Admission

No of CPE

failures

No. admitted

1998 2896 725

1999 3136 907

2000 3264 801

2001 3473 2433

2002 3630 2388

2003 3772 3000

2004 ? ?

There has been a corresponding increase in the number of State Secondary Schools admitting CPE double failures as the table below demonstrates 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 SSS(v) 6 9 10 10 6 5 SSS - - - 2 8 43

PSS - - 33 30 56

Rod. 1 1 1 3 4 5

Total 7 10 11 48 48 112

The Prevocational System is successful because the conceptual framework of its curriculum and the pedagogical approach are oriented towards

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(i) the holistic approach (ii) learning by doing (iii) activity-based teaching (iv) group work (v) project work (vi) peer learning The Mauritius Institute of Education, which is the lead teacher-training institution in the country, is running a programme on Pre-Vocational Education for teachers. Equally, the National Inspectorate has a unit of Pre-Vocational Inspectors who provide advice and run in-service courses to harmonize teaching strategies around a curriculum which is new.

After three years of PVE, graduates of this stream have started to follow as from this year a bridging module that enables them to follow vocational courses at NTC level 3 run by the Industrial Vocational Training Board that operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Training, Skills development and ……….This has been a major sucees of a joint venture between the two Ministries, that of Education and that of Training to ensure that the world of work benefits from the integration of a significant number of children who have been saved from the streets. The overall percentage of children in the 12 to 15 age group enrolled in the secondary sector has increased from 80.7 percent in 2000 to 86.1 percent in 2004.

Special Education Needs: an inclusive education reform strategy This sector of education has been practically under the responsibility of Non-Governmental Organisations subsidised by Government through a Grant-in-Aid scheme. These NGOs offer services in specialized fields to children with:

specific deficiencies: motor, physical, visual, auditory learning difficulties

emotional and behavioural problems multiple handicaps

As part of the global educational reform programme, the Ministry of Education & Scientific Research is committed to bring about reforms in this sector. In June 2001, a Task Force driven by the Ministry and consisting of representatives of NGOs has evolved a series of recommendations on special educational needs. These recommendations were shared and discussed with all stakeholders during a Consultative Workshop held in September 2001. Government has taken a positive measure in this financial year by increasing the contribution of the State to this sector by 68%. Tertiary Education The Tertiary Education Sector is today the reflection of quite a diversified system. Within the public sector, another University, the University of Technology of Mauritius

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and two Polytechnics, the SDIM and the IST have been created to cater for growing demand of higher education, bringing the total number of institutions operating in the Sector to nine. Considerable progress has also been registered in the private provision of tertiary education, with the number of private institutions/distance education providers, which was almost non-existent a decade ago standing at some twenty in Year 2000 and thirty in 2004. The growing demand for tertiary education has also been coupled by an increasing presence of overseas bodies and providers locally. Some 50 such institutions/bodies are presently operating in the country. Attendance in universities overseas constitutes another important component of tertiary education. In parallel, with the increasing number of institutions, participation at the tertiary level has risen significantly, bringing the Gross Tertiary Enrolment Rate from less than 6% in the early nineties to 13% in 2000 and nearly 20% at present. The tertiary student population was estimated at some 25,800 in 2003 as opposed to 17,100 in 2000. Enrolment in the publicly-funded institutions has evolved favourably, with enrolment on postgraduate and degree programmes which made up for only 1.6% and 15.1% of total PFIs enrolment in 1994, increasing to 3.9% and 38.9% respectively in 1997. The corresponding figures for 2000 were 5.2% and 50% respectively. On the whole, the gender composition of enrolment is well balanced, with female constituting 49% of enrolment in the PFIs in 2000. The publicly-funded institutions accounted for nearly 60% of total tertiary enrolment in 2000; the remaining 40% was distributed between private institutions/distance education providers (27%) and universities overseas (13%). The corresponding figures for 2003 were 51%, 28% and 21% respectively. Lifelong Learning With a view to making Mauritius a knowledge hub, the Government has been proactive in redefining the framework within which lifelong learning can be articulated. This framework allow for teaching and learning processes to take place at all levels ranging from grassroots education to higher education. This caters for a broad range of people with very much the same objective, that is, to make them aware of their socio-economic situation, their educational life-chances, their market opportunities and the resources that are at their disposal. The setting up of the Mauritius Qualifications Authority in 2001, which inter alia has the responsibility for developing and maintaining the National Qualifications Framework, provides the much-needed pathways and articulation mechanisms and processes between the various levels of education and training.

On the other hand, the Tertiary Education Institutions have been playing their part. The Mauritius College of the Air (MCA) has a history of response to educational needs through the conceptualization and dissemination of educational programs to meet different requirements at different levels. It has produced a very large number of educational materials for the formal and non-formal sector on project basis using media and distance education. The University of Mauritius (UoM) has courses on offer which are in line with the development plans of the country. With its aim of providing an employable workforce, it runs professional programmes in Information Technology and courses for the public sector managerial cadres as well as for hotel management and several other technical courses. The Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) is also a key player in lifelong learning. It is the main provider of teacher education at all levels.

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Other Ministries like the Ministry of Women Rights, Family Welfare and Child Development which has vested itself with the mission of empowering women, as well as NGOs and Civil Society organisations also play a key role in the promotion of Lifelong Learning.

Within the context of transforming Mauritius into a Cyber island, a framework for lifelong learning in ICT has been developed and is being successfully implemented with the joint participation of the public and private sectors. It is thought that the experience accrued will be fed in other models of lifelong learning that will be developed in due course.

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Among other actions undertaken are the following:

• Driven by the Taskforce on E-Education and E-Training under the chairmanship of the Minister of Education & Scientific Research, seven Levels of IT skills have been identified which would address the need of the whole Mauritian population: students, working community and public at large. For each Level of training, descriptors have been prepared focusing on the outcomes of training.

• As a priority, it was deemed necessary to train teachers to at least the

Computer Proficiency Level i.e. Level 3 of the IT skills. In this regard, an innovative, well coordinated and self-financing training programme was launched in October 2002 with seed money provided by Government. For implementing this vast training programme, existing facilities and infrastructure of thirty State Secondary Schools are being used after normal school hours with IT Teachers of Primary and Secondary Schools enlisted as trainers.

• The implementation of the Computer Proficiency Programme (CPP) has been

entrusted to the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council and is being implemented by a Project Management Team under the supervision of a Steering Committee comprising public and private sector representatives which reports to the Taskforce on E-Education and E-Training. In view of the nation-wide nature of the training, as it turned out, the CPP is not only addressing the needs of school teachers but also those of the other categories including working population, the unemployed and housewives.

In view of the increasing importance of lifelong learning, the Government intends to go ahead this year with the creation of an Open Learning Institute/Open University in the country. Furthermore substantial amount of land has already been earmarked for development in tertiary education

(ii) RELEVANCE Renewal of the Primary School Curriculum

The primary school curriculum had been, for a long time and up to the year 2001, concentrating on the academic subjects – English, Mathematics, French, Environmental

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Studies (a mix of history, geography, science and civics) and an Asian Language/Arabic as an optimal subject. Although such areas as Physical Education and Art and Craft (re-styled Creative Education) appeared on the primary school time table only lip service was paid to these very important components of primary education.

This limited curriculum had an adverse effect on the all-round development of the children, particularly with regard to their physical development and aesthetic appreciation, but also concerning their rights and responsibilities and the richness of living together in a multicultural society in a world that is fast becoming a global village.

With Ranking abolished as from 2002, the way was opened for an overhaul of the primary school curriculum to give all children a broad-based education that will promote their mental, physical, aesthetic, spiritual and cultural development and will prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.

The new primary curriculum takes into consideration the following four pillars that the Delors Commission sees as forming the foundation of education: (i) Learning to know, (ii) Learning to do, (iii) Learning to be (iv) Learning to live together. The introduction of subjects like Citizenship Education, Health & Physical Education and the Arts is expected to lead towards the affective development of the child by providing opportunities for developing their emotional intelligence. Learning outcomes are also geared towards preventing children from developing too insular an outlook: The inclusion of Science and IT works in that direction. Relevance at the Tertiary level The publicly-funded institutions were running a total of 208 different programmes in 2003 compared with 160 in 2000 and 91 in 1997. There has been a remarkable improvement in the provision of degree and masters level programmes, which increased from 27 in 1997 to 87 in 2000 and 93 in 2003 and from 6 in 1997 to 20 in 2000 and 34 in 2003 respectively. Research in the Tertiary Education Sector which is concentrated exclusively in one institution, more specifically the UoM has started to pick up in the last few years. In order to boost up research at the tertiary level, the TEC, through it Research and Related Support Schemes, has been providing support to MPhil/PhD students for doing research at the UoM. The number of MPhil/PhD research at the UoM, accordingly, went up from 26 in 1991 to 78 in 1997 and 114 in 2000. Research output in terms of MPhil/PhD awards also registered a significant improvement, rising from 1 in 1992 to 7 in 1998 and 15 in 2001. The Tertiary Education Commission has equally developed a comprehensive quality assurance framework for the public sector and a quality culture is slowly being developed in the tertiary education institutions. With a view to increasing the relevance to tertiary education to the needs of the economy, the TEC has been carrying out Graduate Tracer Studies and Employers

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Surveys and provide feedback to the tertiary education institutions, for reviewing existing courses and mounting new ones. A transparent system of resource allocation based upon need, performance and based on institutional plans has been introduced. (iii) ACHIEVEMENT The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy was devised subsequent to surveys and analyses carried out revealing that more than 30% of primary school cohorts leaving school face reading and writing difficulties in English and French. These also showed that standards of Numeracy have to be improved. The Strategy was accordingly introduced in June 2003 across the whole spectrum of primary schools.

• The Primary school working hours from Standard I to Standard VI have been

extended by 25 minutes per day. This serves to accommodate 75 minutes of Literacy in English and French and 50 minutes of Numeracy per week.

• The strategy uses an activity-based approach without the constraints of a prescribed

textbook. • Learners are made to participate in group work, develop basic communicative

skills through play and fun.

• Primary school teachers have been trained since February 2003 to help them change conventional pedagogical practices to meet the needs of learners of different abilities.

• Reading – for-pleasure strategies are being developed to encourage children to cultivate reading habits.

The implementation of this Strategy has benefited from the help and support of

resource persons from UK, France and Australia

Education Action Zones (Zones d’ Education Prioritaires- ZEP): Upgrading the performance level of low achieving primary schools

30 primary schools which have had a pass rate of less than 40% over the last five years at the CPE form part of the Education Action Zones.

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This innovative strategy lies at the heart of the Government’s education programme in favour of disadvantaged children. This strategy is being established to improve performance in challenging circumstances and forms an integral part of the overall educational reform plan.

Launched in July 2003, the project is built on three pillars

1. Human Resources: the critical success factor.

As a way of promoting and recognizing achievement, performance-related

reward schemes for individual teachers as well as for the school personnel

have been introduced.

Parent-Mediators provide support and mediated learning programme to

parents and seek to involve them in the education of their children.

Teachers trained in Remedial Education are encouraged to develop

innovative pedagogical practices working in close collaboration with the

class teachers.

Health and Physical Education Instructors are involved in the management of

the supplementary food and nutrition programme as well as in the

organization of physical education activities.

2. School Project: Building a shared vision and anchoring the school within the

community.

The School Project is a management tool through the School Development Unit used

by the School Leader and his/her team with the active participation of all the key

players: representatives of parent-Teachers’ Association, Non- Governmental

Organisations, Community-Based organizations and Business Organisations.

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In this latter connection, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed in July

2004 with the Joint Economic Council whereby support has been promised by a

number of business organizations to the ZEP schools.

The School Development Unit has the responsibility to identify the key performance

indicators, the performance objectives and to spell out a detailed action plan within a

timeframe.

3. Infrastructure and Environmental Improvement: Creating favourable learning

conditions

Upgrading the overall infrastructure of low achieving schools forms part of a

deliberate effort to create the most favourable conditions for learning to take place.

This upgrading work contributes to enhance the image of those schools among

pupils, teaching and non-teaching personnel and the community in general.

Schools in the Zones are expected to demonstrate measurable results in terms of

improved standards within a three- year timeframe.

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Major Challenges facing the System

Despite the fact that major innovations have been introduced into the system, there still are

a number of challenges that need to be faced and overcome as a complement to the reforms

undertaken. Hereunder are, briefly presented, some of the most crucial ones.

(i) Assessment at key stages

The introduction of free and compulsory schooling up to the age of 16 for all children as

from 2005 needs to be supported by a mode of assessment that determines the levels of

skills and competencies that have been attained by the learners. At the present stage, end of

year and end-of-cycle examinations are the only means that demonstrably indicate

attainment level in a summative fashion. A National Assessment Framework is presently

being developed to ensure that on leaving school at 16, students have acquired the core

competencies required to face successfully the labour market. The Framework would

include assessment of students at different key stages.

School Information and Communications Technology Project (SITP)

The main objectives of this project are to teach ICT as a subject in its own right and

to promote the usage of ICT as a supporting and enabling tool for education and for e-

learning across the whole spectrum of primary schooling. The ultimate objective is to

provide each child, at the end of primary schooling, with a ‘computer driving licence’. This

ambitious project will involve the construction of a new IT Laboratory in each school and

will be implemented in a phased manner by establishing IT Laboratories in 50 primary

schools around the island every year.

Policy Analysis and Planning Unit

The policy analysis and planning unit of the Ministry has the main objectives of ensuring

translation of policy decisions into implementation of activities, carrying out research and

analysis on the education sector and develop indicators to monitor achievement of the

sector.

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Improving School Management and Leadership

Heads of secondary schools are recruited by selection from education officers. The need for

training in educational leadership and management is strongly felt given that at present no

training provision exists for prospective heads of schools prior to and after selection.

Use of mother tongue as language of instruction

One factor identified as the cause of low achievement at primary level is the use of a

foreign language as the medium of instruction. The use of mother tongue as the medium of

instruction in lower primary will be piloted in two primary schools.

Tertiary

To address the shortage of seats at tertiary level in the local institutions, foreign private

institutions have set up branch campuses. There is need for a coherent and conducive

regulatory framework to govern the setting up of private universities.

2 Quality Education for All Young People 2.1 Education and Gender equality The UN Millenium Summit has set out among others the goal of achieving universal primary education by the year 2015 and promoting gender equality with the target of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. In Mauritius boys and girls have equal rights to education and employment. Mauritius achieved universal primary education by l972 and through policy measures and legal provisions, girls have equal opportunity of access to primary, secondary and post secondary education. Two most important policy changes had resulted in making the gender parity a reality: 1977 - The provision of free secondary education and later tertiary education

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1991 - Compulsory primary education for both boys and girls.

Gender parity (which is the size of girls’ enrolment to that of boys) at the pre-primary and

Primary levels stands at 1, and at Secondary, it is 1.1.

A major landmark is the leveling of the gap between the male and female educated

population. The rate of passes has been improving each year for girls in examinations at all

levels, thus enabling them have greater access to the world of work.

Enrolment Levels In Year 2002 the population aged 3 years and over, enrolled in pre-primary schools was 36 982. The Gross Enrolment Ratio was 96%. Gender disparity in enrolment at this level is non-existent. Gender Parity is the size of girls’ enrolment relative to that of boys. Evolution of the Gross Enrolment Ratio at Pre School level (4-5 years) by gender 1993 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 2001 2202 2003 MF 78 78 78 96 98 96 96 94 99 F 78 78 77 96 98 96 96 94 101 M 77 79 79 97 98 96 96 94 98 F/M Gender Parity

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Evolution of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at Primary Level by gender 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 MF 103 107 108 107 105 105 103 103 102 F 103 107 108 108 106 105 103 103 102 M 103 106 107 107 105 105 103 103 103 F/M Gender Parity

1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Evolution of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at Secondary Level by gender 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 G 49 50 51 53 56 60 62 64 66 F 50 51 53 55 58 63 65 67 70 M 49 48 49 51 54 58 60 61 63

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F/M 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 Enrolment in Prevocational Schools by gender Year Male Female % (female) Total 1997 873 318 27% 1191 1998 3261 1380 30% 4641 1999 3149 1340 30% 4489 2000 3344 1351 29% 4695 2001 3370 1549 31% 4919 2002 3926 2040 34% 5966 2003 4673 2653 36% 7326 Enrolment by gender in tertiary institutions in 2000/2001 Institution Male Female Total % University of Mauritius 2657 2239 4896 46 Mauritius Institute of Education 1005 2051 3056 67 Mahatma Gandhi Institute 760 1329 2089 64 Polytechnics 761 236 997 24 TOTAL 5183 5855 11038 53

Promotion, repetition and drop-out rates from Std 6 to F1 (Percentages) Year Promotion Rate Promotion Rate Repetition Rate Drop-out Rate Primary to F1

Mainstream (%) Primary to Year 1 Prevoc (%)

Std VI Std VI

M F T M F T M F T M F T 1997 59.0 66.3 62.5 5.5 2.1 3.9 21.9 18.8 20.4 13.6 12.8 13.2 1998 60.4 64.2 62.3 15.2 7.4 11.4 23.3 19.8 21.6 1.1 8.6 4.8 1999 55.6 63.4 59.4 10.6 4.9 7.8 24.7 20.3 22.6 9.1 11.4 10.2 2000 56.7 64.3 60.4 10.2 4.5 7.4 24.7 20.3 22.5 8.4 10.9 9.6 2001 58.8 68.0 63.2 12.8 7.1 10.1 24.2 19.0 21.7 4.2 5.9 5.0 2002 57.3 68.3 62.6 12.9 7.5 10.3 25.0 19.9 22.6 4.7 4.2 4.5 2003 61.3 71.5 66.2 14.9 9.2 12.1 23.3 18.1 20.8 0.6 1.2 0.9 Progression of girls and boys from Grade 1 to HSC

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Year Level Boys Girls Total 1990

Grade 1 9871 9576 19446

1995

Grade 6 9636 98%

9349 98%

18985 98%

2000

SC 6231 63%

6770 71%

13001 67%

2002 HSC 2830 29%

3403 36%

6233 32%

Percentage Passes at Certificate of Primary Education 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 MF 60 61 61 65 67 66 65 65 F 63 64 65 70 72 72 71 71 M 58 58 57 62 62 61 60 60 Percentage pass at SC and HSC by gender Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 M F M F M F M F M F M F

SC 74 77 77 78 76 78 75 78 74 79 72 77

HSC 72 74 73 72 73 76 68 77 70 76 74 77

2.2 Education and Social Inclusion In a society that is fast evolving, the issue of social inclusion is being seen at two levels: the elimination of wastage of human resources 2.3 Education and Competencies for life It is today widely accepted that the reforms in the primary sector will prove incomplete if sufficient attention is not paid to the secondary sector. Indeed, a major challenge has come

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to be the very reorganization of secondary education to ensure the fostering and development of the skills and knowledge required for socio-economic growth. With that aim in view, a review is being undertaken at both the level of content and the type of secondary education being offered. Curriculum Renewal At the secondary level, the Lower Secondary curriculum had last been renewed as far back as the mid ‘70s and late ‘80s whereby Mauritian-based programmes and materials were developed in some specific subject areas. Yet, in view of the need to encourage the adaptability of learners to a changing global environment and ensuring their future trainability, there has been felt an urgent need to re-visit and renew the existing curriculum. Indeed, the relevance of the new curriculum will be determined by the way it

• integrates new learning areas-eg communications systems, biotechnology, recent health issues, energy and environment, sustainable development—in short issues pertaining to globalization

• integrates new methodologies of teaching • recognizes the learners’ multiple intelligences and develops their varied knowledge

and skill competencies. Hence, the new curriculum for secondary schooling is being seen, reviewed and renewed in the context of a National Curriculum of 11 years of schooling, in line with the implementation of the policy of compulsory education for all up to the age of 16 as from January 2005. The renewed curriculum is expected to lay emphasis on the following skills acquisition:

• Creative thinking skills • Creativity • Communication skills, including skills dealing with electronic communication • Ability to work together • Cultural literacy skills ( e.g. patriotism) • Sense of entrepreneurship • Physical fitness skills • Aesthetic, moral and ethical approach essential in the development of the young

person in that age group • Environment and daily life skills

On the other hand, greater emphasis is coming to be placed on science education as a basis for the development of a knowledge-based economy. All in all therefore, the secondary school curriculum is being developed keeping in view the following key characteristics: it has to, inter alia, be

• Holistic • Flexible • Contextually relevant

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• Promoting global awareness • Integrated with other disciplines • Acceptable to the community • thematic/spiral in approach • fair to the learner

Science education Science and Technology literacy is turning out to be vital for a profound understanding of the world and to contribute positively to its development. Further, with the realization that competency in the use of ICT is impossible without a good science and mathematics foundation, the teaching and learning of science has come to be a prime consideration for the development of human capital. Recent research has indicated that less than 30 per cent of ‘O’ level students would opt for science subjects in secondary schools. The Mauritius Research Council, that operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research has, further to a national survey, accordingly come up with the recommendation that the fundamental aim of science teaching is to facilitate a child-centered, active learning approach so as to develop thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills among children. Among other recommendations, the following are noteworthy:

• a rethinking of assessment that should be based on group activities, continuous assessment and group assessment

• the restructuring of the science curriculum and making it compulsory for all students up to Form V

• revisiting the content and structure of compulsory science that should be locally relevant so as to prepare the youth to be scientifically and technologically literate

• the professional development of teachers of science and breaking their professional isolation

• The use of the language of the environment for the teaching of science (especially true for the primary education sector)

The new curriculum that is being prepared for the secondary sector will certainly take a number of such recommendations on board. Type of Secondary Education More attention is coming to be focused on the need to diversify the type of secondary education that has to be offered. While traditional emphasis has been on the provision of an education that emphasized the academic component, a new system of post ‘O’ level polytechnic education is being planned for those students, after the completion of 11 year schooling, would rather opt for a different type of education that is closer to the world of work. Quality Education and the key role of Teachers

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Teachers are a key to the improvement of the educational quality of any educational system. As a major partner of educational reforms, they become central to facilitating the task of learning within the classroom. Mauritius has a rich democratic tradition in which consultations are carried out with all stakeholders so as to bring innovations and changes to a successful fruition. In this context, their professional development and retraining are seen as fundamental so that, where teacher training is concerned, their opinions are regularly sought as part of the quality assurance mechanism inbuilt in all Teacher Education (TE) programmes and also opinion surveys are conducted with regard to these programmes, the outcome of which surveys are used as the basis for the improvement of forthcoming TE programmes. In addition, pre- and in-service education has been reformed, with greater emphasis being placed not only on the development of professional skills and values but also at promoting more autonomy, innovation, reflection and career-long development. In this latter context, the training path for teachers has been so rationalized as to encourage them to undertake voluntary career-long professional development. Here distance education and open learning (DEOL) is playing an important role in capacity building in a situation where resources in the single Teacher Training Institution (the MIE) are limited. Again the professional development of teachers has been linked to their status and their salary structure in keeping with the recommendations of the Pay Research Bureau (PRB), which is the organism that defines the conditions of work and pay of teachers. It is accordingly interesting to note that the number of teachers who have either followed or are following pedagogical/ professional training has improved considerably. Hence, at the pre-primary level, the percentage of trained teachers stood at 97 percent in 2003; at primary level, with the implementation of the PRB Report, the minimum qualification is now ‘A’ levels rather than the previous ‘O’ level requirements. Finally, in a bid to make teaching at the secondary education level an all-graduate profession, professional development has now resulted in 59 percent of the teachers being graduates.

MAJOR CHALLENGES FACING THE SYSTEM

Some of the challenges that the system is currently facing relate to the following: • Lifelong learning : turning Mauritius into a knowledge hub and the e-learning

initiative • Opening of school libraries to the community

• Improving School Management and Leadership

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• Use of mother-tongue in education (pilot project) IN HOUSE REFORMS

• Policy Analysis Unit • e-Government unit • Special Educational Needs Unit • Budget Monitoring and Expenditure Framework (MTEF)

Main Problems and Challenges Facing the educational system at the beginning of the 21st century The Tertiary Education Sector is confronted with a number of problems and challenges, as follows:

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Absence of an overarching regulatory framework for tertiary education resulting in a fragmented and uncoordinated system and uneven quality among service providers, especially private ones

Inability for sector to meet local demand for tertiary education in full

Presently our gross tertiary enrolment ratio is 19.8%. The challenge in the medium term is to ultimately bring it in line with our competitors, in the range of 30% - 35%

Insufficient research across the Sector

Limited expertise in emerging and new areas

Links with the economy needs to be fully exploited

Insufficient postgraduate taught and research programmes

The need to build pathways in the system and opportunities for lifelong learning

High dependence on State funding in the public sector

There is need for greater equity in the system and greater representation from the under-privileged and the disadvantaged

Objectives and Principal Characteristics of Current and Forthcoming Reforms

To increase and widen access to tertiary education

To increase the relevance of programmes in line with national needs

To ensure quality and high standard of tertiary education

To foster research and scholarships in the tertiary education institutions

To ensure accountability in the use of public funds by the tertiary education institutions

To ensure financial sustainability of the Tertiary Education Sector

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To promote effectiveness and efficiency of tertiary education institutions

To encourage strong relationships between the Tertiary Education Sector and the public and private sectors

To improve links between the local Tertiary Education Sector and other reputable institutions overseas

To make Mauritius a regional centre for tertiary education.