Symposium : AFRICA DAY 24 – African Union’s Year of Education

UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF MAURITIUS (4)

Symposium: AFRICA DAY24 – African Union’s Year of Education.

Theme: Educate an African/Mauritian fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa/Mauritius. 1st June 2024, Honoris Education Networks, Belle Terre.

Symposium organised by COSYM-MAURITIUS, UNSYC-MAURITIUS, with the collaboration of FALAS-MAURITIUS, UWC-MAURITIUS, Honoris Education Networks & in association with AASU.

Paper 2 – Education in Mauritius and in the continent as per UN perspective, by Professor (Dr.) Sooltan Mahbood Sohawon, who was educated at the College of Preceptors, London, the Mauritius Institute of Education (Teachers’ Diploma), the University of Mauritius (BEd Hons), the University of Bath, UK (MA in Education – Educational Management), the Oxford Centre for Excellence (Fellow) and European-American University (EdD in Educational Leadership and Management). He received his doctorate at a ceremony in London in 2011. Currently he is Part-time MEd Lecturer (Leadership and Management) for Doha Academy of Tertiary Studies and Senior Lecturer from 2012 to date. Professor Sohawon is a founder member of Socialist Working Youth League of Mauritius (1971) – currently known as COSYM-MAURITIUS and the United Nations Association of Mauritius (in 1975).

Paper 2 – Education in Mauritius and as per UN perspective.

“Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world”.

“Nelson Mandela”.

Education is to our well-being in life, especially the social and intellectual dimensions, as to what food and blood are to our body. It stands at the core as it moulds our manners, behaviours, personality, values and relationships, hence enhancing our way of living. In brief, it shapes human beings in what they are and will be. It is considered as a process by which individuals are enlightened with knowledge that comes from life experiences and empowered with critical, logical thinking skills and competencies. It is firmly stated that if learners are educated and nurtured smartly, they will contribute significantly in changing things towards progress and development for themselves and by extension, the society and country.

Education has always been a challenging issue for all countries around the world at all times because it occupies a pivotal position in their overall development and progress, especially in the socio-economic field. It revolves around a healthy system of education, whereby returns on investment are not expected in the short term. Countries, which have been able to conceptualise their own system of education, are really lucky because they have been able to live up to the aspirations of their citizens and meet the needs and demands of the countries compared to those which have not, especially those which have been under the yoke of colonisation, as is the case of Mauritius.

Our system of education has its origin from by the British educational system since Mauritius was a former British colony but since its independence in 1968, it is still greatly influenced by it. For example, the O-Level and A-Level examinations are carried out by the University of Cambridge through University of Cambridge International Examinations, which devises the syllabus; prepares and prints the examinations papers and does the correction, in conjunction with the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate.

The Mauritian education, at all levels, is governed by the Education Regulations (1957) and the Education [Amendment] Act (2006). Since that time till now, it has known many reforms like providing free access to education from the pre-primary to the tertiary level, the development of curriculum frameworks for the different levels, providing free transport to school children to attend schools and provision of positive discrimination to those whose parents are registered as being socio-economically vulnerable. As the field of education is constantly on the move due to the non-static state of society, so the requirements of the present and coming generations need to be attended as earliest as possible if Mauritius wants to grow economically and intellectually strong. This is a burning issue or trend which is high on the agenda of any country in the world today. Many changes are taking place at various levels – social, economic, geopolitical, cultural and environmental and these are impacting heavily upon the system of education.

Let us critically analyse the Mauritian education system and look at some gaps which need to be addressed.

Elitism

The main problem of our education system is elitism (Ducasse, 2009). It promotes competition rather than cooperation. It is being compared to a ‘rat race’ and ‘cut-throat’ competition and it starts from the early years of schooling up to the secondary level. It does exert much psychological pressure on all the stakeholders, especially the learners and their parents. The learners have to struggle hard in order to secure a seat in these “highly rated secondary schools” (Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources, 2008).And, this competition stands pole apart from the core mission of education and schooling (Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, 2001). Then, at the end of their secondary education, these highflyers are awarded full scholarships to pursue their tertiary education in the best universities abroad. This award of laureates started from the British colonisers. A noticeable improvement by the Mauritian government is the award of scholarships to socially disadvantaged students who have performed very well to local universities.

Private tuition

Now, in this cut-throat competition, students have to attend to private tuition in order not to miss their chance to be laureates (elites) (Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources, 2008). Elitism is closely connected to private tuition and it involves massive financial investment and it is not affordable to many families. In 2006, the Association for the Department of Education in Africa stated that private tuition is one of the major flaws of the Mauritian education system (Lam Hung, 2008). Besides, this phenomenon has been institutionalised (Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, 1997). Private tuition has turned out to be a necessary evil and it shows that our system of education has failed somewhere. The question of equity and equality in education is being challenged and we have been witnessing the merciless clash between quality results and quality education (Rivet, 2008). Private tuition places have turned into “indoctrination centres” and educators are seen as “vendors of merchandise” (Mahadeo, 2008) much at the expense of appropriate pedagogy suitable for the dispensation of the curriculum. This situation has led to disengagement on the part of most learners in learning at school and, in many cases, according to Ramharai et al, 2006, it has given rise to misbehaviour and indiscipline at the school level.

Knowledge-based education

Our system of education is too knowledge-based, one where emphasis is placed on the content rather than on the learner. The Cambridge School Certificate and Higher School Certificate programmes stand as clear examples. Students have no time for extra or co-curricular activities where they can display their practical skills in other vistas (Atchia, 2008). So, it is clear that our educational system is mostly knowledge-oriented. What about the learning of values and other related issues? Is it not the link to misbehaviour and indiscipline at the school level?

Centralisation and decentralisation of education

The issue of centralisation and/or decentralisation of education has been a highly debated topic amongst educational stakeholders. Is it a myth and/or a reality? We all know that he educational system of Mauritius is mostly centralised and all decisions concerning the national education and reforms are taken and implemented by the Minister of education. It is obvious in the Education Regulations (1957) and the Education [Amendment] Act (2002), that the Minister of education is solely responsible and has the power and authority for influencing policy decisions regarding education and educational reforms. It is clearly stated that the Minister shall have control of the educational system of Mauritius and shall be responsible for the general progress and development of such system and this smacks of politicisation of our educational system in the country.

Automatic promotion

Is automatic promotion a blessing or a curse? It may be a blessing for the gifted and talented children who should be provided with a different pathway, but surely a curse to the below average capabilities who should strive their ways in classrooms where teaching is done as a size fits all. It is a practice which allows students to be promoted from grade to grade despite the quality of their marks/grades/performance until they complete their primary education cycle (Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, 1990). This practice is encouraged at the secondary level where students are automatically promoted during the first three years. It implies that students who have failed to achieve the learning outcomes of a specific grade are automatically promoted to the following grade or class. A study of the impact of automatic promotion is not a practice to be encouraged as it has been researched and found that only 20% of the student cohort of the first grade of the primary education in 1994 was able to complete the last grade of secondary education (Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources, 2008).

Now, automatic promotion has a negative impact as slow students are ignored by educators and the school when they have not acquired the academic competencies to follow the class (Mahadeo, 2008; Hilbert, 2008). Sukon (2008) proposes that the education system should get rid of this practice to ensure there is a remediation process to allow all students achieve the required skills and knowledge before moving up the educational ladder.

Lack of discipline at school and class levels

There are ample evidences which clearly demonstrate that discipline has become the number one school problem at both primary and secondary levels in Mauritius (O. N. Varma, 2008). It is considered to be the number one factor that hampers the effective running of schools (Belle, 2007). It is a highly debated issue by stakeholders, especially parents, educators, sociologists and the media (Ramjanally 2015). Beebeejaun-Muslum (2014) posits that the situation has been worsening among secondary school students during the last ten years. Ramrahai et al (2006) explain that this degradation is the result of the fact that since the Education Regulations (1957), all the educational reforms or plans rarely mention discipline as a school problem.

In 2006, the Mauritius Research Council conducted a research on the lack of learner discipline and confirmed that indiscipline is reaching an unprecedentedly alarming level. The 2007 and 2011 reports of the Global School-based Student Health Survey revealed that an average of 34 % of students in the country is involved in physical aggression at least once annually (Jeannot 2015). The situation has been a matter of great concern that an inter-ministerial committee, including officials from the Ministry of Gender and Equality, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth, and the Ministry of Social Integration was set up to discuss about the way forward to restore discipline in secondary schools (Le Defi Quotidien, 2015).

The Education Regulations (1957) mentions only two disciplinary measures that the school principal may take to maintain learner discipline, namely suspension and expulsion. However, it is to be noted that expulsion can only happen upon the approval of the Minister. These are reactive and punitive measures that are ineffective (Le Defi- Quotidien, 2015). These measures, however, are inadequate since the school leader has only a few or no legal or administrative guidelines for the implementation of effective discipline measures. The lack of a legal framework for learner discipline management by the school head, the absence of decentralisation of school management and the lack of political decisions about the phenomenon by the Ministry of Education explain the alarming situation in Mauritian secondary schools (Lam Hung, 2008). There is, therefore, an absence of a discipline plan to address the problem of indiscipline among students.

The place and importance of Inclusive Education in the curriculum

This is a topic which has been given less attention and the irony is that we talked about … Inclusive education is about making sure every child, no matter their ability or difference, gets a quality education. It is one of the targets under Sustainable Development Goal 4, which states that we have to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning for all”. It is gaining momentum today and has become a reality and a must in educational systems around the world today. So, a pressing need to set up inclusive schools is being felt. It will be an opportunity for students ‘autrement capable’ to unfold their attitudes, values, competencies and skills needed to live and work alongside others in a diverse society.

The dimensions of inclusive education consider social, cognitive and economic benefits. A skilled and diverse workforce is better equipped to tackle the challenges of a globalised world. These will lead to a more inclusive workforce and will, consequently, boosts the economic productivity of any country.

Strategies to improve inclusive education range from using diverse teaching strategies creating a supportive classroom environment, providing individualised support, encouraging collaboration, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring regular assessment, using diverse teaching strategies,

Suggestions for some recommendations for schools to take inclusivity forward

• Teachers/educators and staff should receive on-going preparation and support to assist them to work with students with diverse needs.

• Classrooms are to be provided with materials and tools that cater to all students.

• A safe and inclusive atmosphere.

• Smart rules and regulations to address bullying or teasing issues as every student should feel valued and respected.

Policymakers:

There are other issues related to policymakers like funding, devising teacher training/ preparation programmes that focus on inclusive education, retrofitting schools to accommodate students with physical disabilities, and development of an anti-discrimination policies to protect students with diverse needs.

Now, I invite you to reflect on these issues.

The era of Artificiality and technology

Now, here are some of the challenges worth addressing, though Mauritian education is ranked, according to a World Education Forum report, (the results of which were published by Bscholarly,) in the top four of 38 countries surveyed in Africa.

• Is our system of education preparing our learners to face the real world?

• What about revisiting the curriculum for the uncertainties, challenges and reversal of (traditional) values and beliefs?

• What about structuring schools and all related activities in relation to their roles in society, and the roles of teachers, students and staffs in the system?

• What about reinventing school cultures to live up to the realities of the demands of the present world?

• What is the place of technology and virtual issues in the curriculum design and planning for the 21st century?