Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

is managed by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources, which controls the development and administration of state schools funded by government, but also has an advisory and supervisory role in respect of private schools. The

Tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

is maintained by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology. The government of Mauritius provides

free education Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Many models of free higher education have been proposed. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is fr ...

to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary levels. Since July 2005, the government also introduced free transport for all students. Schooling is compulsory up to the age of 16. Mauritian students consistently rank top in the world each year for the Cambridge International

O Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

, International A and AS level examinations. Among sub-Saharan African countries, Mauritius has one of the highest literacy rates. According to The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency as of 2018, 91.3% of the population age 15 and over can read and write in Mauritius were respectively literate.

History

After the country became independent in 1968, education became one of the main preoccupations of the Mauritian Government to meet the new challenges awaiting the country. Considerable investment of resources, both human and material, has been put into the Education sector and impressive progress has been achieved in terms of free, universal, compulsory primary education, free secondary education and a fairly wide range of higher education courses at the

University of Mauritius The University of Mauritius (UoM) (french: Université de Maurice) is the national university of Mauritius. It is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered. The public university's m ...

. Textbooks for students of Grades 1 to 9 have been free since 2020. Education has been free through the secondary level since 1976 and through the post-secondary level since 1988. The government has made an effort to provide adequate funding for education, occasionally straining tight budgets and even subsidised a great part of the expenditure in the Private Confessional schools, that is, schools under the control of the Catholic Church. However, the pre-primary schools are still privately owned mostly.

Overview

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources supervises and monitors all actions related to the support to be provided to education. The Mauritius Qualification Authority is the regulator of the technical and vocational education and training sector. The

is maintained by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology. The Tertiary Education Commission has the responsibility for allocating public funds, and fostering, planning and coordinating the development of post-secondary education and training, its strategic plan envisages Mauritius as a regional knowledge hub and a centre for higher learning and excellence. It promotes open and distance learning to increase access to post-secondary education and lifelong learning, both locally and regionally. The education system in Mauritius is largely based on the British system since Mauritius was a former British colony. It consists of a 2+6+5+2 system of formal education. The education system in Mauritius is categorized into 4 main sectors – pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary. There is additionally a provision for pre-vocational and vocational education and training for school leavers and students outside of the academic stream. Pre-primary schools accept students from the age of three. Children from the age of five to eleven go to primary school. They are admitted in Grade 1 and gradually moves on to Grade 6. Primary education ends with a national examination which is the

Primary School Achievement Certificate Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

(PSAC). Students passing PSAC gains admittance to secondary schools, those with excellent results are admitted in National secondary schools. Secondary education is normally a 7-year study, starting from Grade 7 to Grade 11 The National Assessment At Grade 9 is carried out in the third year of Secondary education. Varied subjects are taught and as from Form IV, students are streamlined according to the subjects they choose. At the end of the 5th year of study at secondary level, students sit for the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

School Certificate The School Certificate was a qualification issued by the Board of Studies, New South Wales, typically at the end of Year 10. The successful completion of the School Certificate was a requirement for completion of the Higher School Certificate. T ...

(SC) examination. Passing the SC exam, allows them to continue another 2-year study ending with the Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam. The teaching of English and French are compulsory in all schools. Students also have the option to learn any ancestral languages which are spoken in Mauritius, which include

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Bhojpuri,

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, Mandarin, Marathi,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, Tamil, Telugu and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, in 2012 the government also introduced Mauritian Creole in primary schools. The medium of instruction varies from school. The school year consists of thirty nine weeks, divided into 3 terms of thirteen weeks. For Secondary schools 1st Term is from 12 January to 6 April, 2nd Term from 23 April to 20 July and 3rd Term from 13 August to 1 November. For Primary schools the 1st Term is from 12 January to 6 April, 2nd Term from 23 April to 20 July and 3rd Term from 20 August to 9 November.

Structure

Academic stream

The academic stream is the standard stream of education, allowing progression from primary school to secondary school to tertiary institutions. Students who aim to seek admission in higher education or foreign institutions generally follow the academic stream. *With the introduction of the Nine Year Schooling (NYS) in January 2017, the old terminology “Standards” and "Form" has henceforth be replaced by “Grade” as shown above.

Vocational stream

Those who wish to obtain career and technical qualifications, as well as those who fail to complete any stage or obtain any qualification of the academic stream from the

Certificate of Primary Education The Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) was an academic qualification in Mauritius awarded upon the completion of primary school. The exam last took place at the end of 2016 before it was replaced by the Primary School Achievement Certificate ...

onward, may enter into the vocational stream, which provides technical and vocational training and education (TVET) in life skills and job skills for employment and independent living. The vocational stream offers options outside of the academic stream for students to complete the compulsory stages of education, and to continue their formal education beyond the compulsory years, in vocational programmes of study. Those who successfully complete the

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...

(HND), a

post-secondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

qualification, may then progress to the

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

with advanced standing, and thus re-enter into the academic stream of formal education, with the option to progress onto postgraduate studies in

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

Statistics

The adult

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

for both sexes was estimated at 89.8% according to the census made by Statistics Mauritius in 2011. Male literacy was 92.3% and Female 87.3%. For the year 2011, government expenditure on education was estimated at Rs 11,709 million, representing 12.5% of total expenditure.

Education sectors

Pre-primary education

Pre-primary education embraces children between 3 and 5 years old. The number of children in pre-primary schools was 33,901 out of which 51% were boys and 49% girls. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (number of students enrolled per 100 population aged 4–5) works out to 97% with an average of 13 pupils per teacher. The number of pre-primary schools in March 2011 was 1,018, that is 985 in the Island of Mauritius and 33 in Rodrigues. 75% of these schools were privately run institutions, 18% operating on government primary school premises administered by the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority and the remaining 7% were administered by either Roman Catholic or Hindu Education Authorities or Municipal/Village Councils.

Primary education

As at March 2011, there were 305 primary schools with 116,068 pupils (51% boys, 49% girls). Total staff comprised 8,266 persons with 4,227 General Purpose Teachers and 1,350 Oriental Language teachers. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (number of students enrolled per 100 population aged 6–11) is 100% and the pupil/teacher ratio 27. Children are enrolled in primary school from the age of five and enter Standard I and move automatically up to Standard VI. The system is highly competitive and a two-year preparation starts since Standard V up to Standard VI for the end of primary school examinations, the

(CPE). The CPE is a national examination carried out by the Mauritius Examination Syndicate which devises the syllabus; prepares and prints the examinations papers and does the correction. Five subjects are compulsory and taken into account for the ranking process; English, French, Mathematics,

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

Oriental languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...

are optional. Children who fail the CPE may have one re-sit. Those who do not pass the CPE at either attempt are not eligible to join the secondary system and may enter the Technical and vocational education. After the CPE exams children are admitted to regional secondary colleges according their zones, those with the best result are admitted in National Colleges. Pass rate for CPE examination increased from 68.1% in 2009 to 68.5% in 2010. Since 2002 the government has implemented educational programmes in some of the primary schools of the country in order to improve CPE exams results in the low achieving schools. The initiative is now known as ''Zones d'Education Prioritaires'' (Z.E.P) and in order to reach its objective, it seeks to involve the whole school community: school staff, parents, NGOs, business and community-based associations.

Secondary education

The Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) now known as Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) determines admission to a secondary college. The child enters college in Form I and progresses through to Form VI, requiring seven years of schooling. From Form I to II internal examination is carried out by the schools. The domains of learning for students from Form I to Form III include: Languages ( English, French,

and Other Languages), Mathematics,

s (Biology, Chemistry, Physics),

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

(ICT, Design and Technology, Home Economics, Design, Clothing and Textiles),

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

(Home Economics – Food and Nutrition and Human Development and

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

Social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

(History, Geography, Sociology) and

Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

(Visual Arts, Music and Drama & Dance) and Cross curricular Domains of Learning. In the past there were no major nationally devised curriculum since each school has to plan its work according to the level of the students. In 2012, the National Assessment at Form III was introduced for students in Form III, this examination is carried out by the Mauritius Examination Syndicate. When students reach Form IV, they have to choose at least six major subjects for their Cambridge

(SC) which is the GCE 'O' Level examinations. This examination is carried out in Form V. Laureate celebration

This is followed by a two-year upper secondary education (Lower VI and Upper VI) ending with the Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC) that is the GCE 'A' Level. Students have to specialise in 3 main subjects and 2 subsidiary ones for the A Level examination. HSC Students have the option to compete and those with the best results win scholarship for their tertiary education. The

O-Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-dept ...

and A-Level examinations are carried out by the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

through

University of Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge Assessment International Education (informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations ...

, which devises the syllabus; prepares and prints the examinations papers and does the correction, in conjunction with the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate. At March 2011, there were 180 schools providing secondary education in the academic stream. The secondary school enrolment was 115,289 (48% boys, 52% girls) and the number of teachers was 7,873. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (number of students enrolled per 100 population aged 12–19) works out to 70% and the pupil/teacher ratio 15. For the Cambridge School Certificate (SC), the pass rate improved slightly from 77.6% in 2009 to 77.8% in 2010. For the Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC), it decreased from 78.8% in 2009 to 78.3% in 2010.

Tertiary education

Tertiary education which started in 1924 with the College of Agriculture has since developed into a diversified system, composed of public, private, regional and overseas institutions catering for a wide range of courses and programmes. The provision of tertiary education extends beyond the local tertiary education institutions given that a significant number of Mauritian students either go overseas or resort exclusively to the open learning mode for pursuing their studies. Tertiary level enrolment went up by 6.9%, from 41,484 in 2009 to 44,334 in 2010. Tertiary institutions in Mauritius includes colleges, universities, Institutes of Technology/Polytechnic and other technical institutions. The country's two main public universities are the

and

University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

. Universities, as in most countries worldwide, have three stages: Bachelor's (undergraduate), Master's (graduate), and Doctoral degrees. Undergraduate stage lasts for at least four years and graduate stage lasts for five years after completion of secondary education or one year after obtaining a bachelor's degree. The third stage of higher education results in obtaining a PhD Degree. Private institutions and overseas institutions/bodies deliver tertiary-level programmes mostly in niche areas like Information Technology, Law, Management, Accountancy and Finance. A number of the institutions are overseas with their provisions made available through the

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

mode.

Technical and vocational education

The Government has undertaken to ensure provision of educational facilities to students till they the reach the maturity age of 16 to enter the world of work. In this context the pre-vocational sector caters for around 4,000 students ejected at the end of the primary cycle, in view of their inability to meet the established benchmark for promotion to the mainstream in the secondary sector. Since its conception in the late 90s, the Prevocational Education has been providing a second chance to pupils who have failed the CPE or who are above 13. The children previously completed a 3-year program in secondary schools in line with the

National Trade Certificate Foundation Course The National Trade Certificate qualifications are technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes of study in Mauritius, designed for early school leavers to gain life skills and job skills for entry into employment. Pre-requisit ...

, but this has now been supplanted by a four-year technical and vocational education and training programme. Such programmes are offered by the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development. Pre-vocational education was dispensed in 126 schools in March 2011 with an enrolment of 7,270 students (64% boys, 36% girls) and 634 teaching staff. The pupil/teacher ratio was 11. In addition to providing pre-vocational and vocational education and training options for early school leavers, institutions of technical and vocational education also provide further education and training for greater employability and career skills enhancement as well as practical training in a number of fields.

Private Tuition

In recent years private tuition has become very common among students due to the competitiveness of the education system; they would usually take private tuition after school hours and during the weekend. In October 2011, the government amended the Education Act to extend the ban on private tuition to pupils in Standards I to III to those in Standard IV. The government introduced the Enhancement Programme as an alternative to private tuition for students in Standards I to IV, a programme which covers the pedagogical aspects of the respective curriculum, as well as co-curricular and extra-curricular components to render the learning experiences more enriching, enjoyable and rewarding.

References

External links

Ministry of Education & Human Resources

Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare

Private Secondary Schools Authority (PSSA)

Tertiary Education Commission

Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology

Mauritius Qualifications Authority

Mauritius Research Council

Education Portal

Early Childhood Care and Education Authority
Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ)
SSR.MU
E-Learning Portal for the Primary Students *http://primaryschoolsinmauritius.org/ {{Mauritius topics