For many decades, we have been speaking and having ad-hoc reforms in education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Over the years, if some changes occurred, we still have a long way to go before the best talents among our pupils can be brought out and channeled to productive outputs in order to put a feather on the cap of Mauritius. Until we incite our pupils to be more creative and enjoy learning, we will still be lagging behind in terms of contributions to innovation, products and services that can add to the country’s wealth and bring happiness to our people.

For this to happen, we have to avoid relying on syllabus coming from overseas, a pattern that encourages rote learning, and develop our own. Policy makers have to think out of the box. (…) Parents, teachers and professors believe in enabling the student to do well in exams, and eventually get a well-paid job that can enhance their standard of living. Alas, this does not enable the development of people who are versatile, open-minded, and have a pronounced sense of right and wrong! Very often we breed human robots that keep the system going, and that leaves decision making to a restricted few (…).

How can we bring about the necessary changes, changes that look positive to those who have a wider view of global development, but negative to those whose vested interests are threatened? I lay stress on global development for our survival is at stake and our educational system has led to a new religion, that of unbridled consumerism with its ensuing havocs on (…) our planet on one side and humans (…) on the other. Economic crises follow one after the other and no country is immune to them. (…) We have to find ways to change directions. For this we have to bring educational reforms from a holistic angle; starting with parental education at the very basic family level, then move to the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

At family level, we should open the doors of our community centers for continuouseducation to parents and offer courses on current global issues and parental responsibilities. We should educate them to follow courses that will improve their understanding of family and social psychology, and a greater awareness of global issues that they can tackle within their limits. Such education can be undertaken by nongovernmental organizations with logistical and program support from the government and the private sector (…).

TRUST AND COOPERATION

There is urgent need to bring mutual trust and understanding and solidarity within the family if we want to see these extended within the society. One cannot expect to see real trust and cooperation at higher levels of country programs if the seeds are not sown within the family, the primary cell of any development. At primary level, children must feel eager to go to school. Studying must be fun for them! Once or twice a week the entire class must go out in the open, visit places and institutions where they experience real life situations they won’t see in the class and in books. (…) Such a pattern of education is already being followed in Norwegian countries. This helps children develop a spirit of enquiry that later convert into fruitful research capability and contribution to the economy and society (…).

At secondary level, the number of subjects studied is still significant. (…) As the pupils progress through different classes, the number of subjects they have to take reduces so that they can concentrate on the ones they are good at. Teachers have to give special attention to the psycho-physiological changes that accompany this age, wherein rebellious attitude is often visible. If only the teachers can win the confidence of the students, progress will be quite significant.

Private tuition still remains a major issue as teachers are often tempted.The financial burden on parents often forces them to work overtime to pay the tuition fees, all this to the detriment of quality time that could be devoted to family, sports and other social and self-improvement activities. What happened to the good old debating clubs and youngsters clubs where students learnt many other ways to become responsible citizens? Our leaders should give a serious thought to this! (…)

At the tertiary level, very few students join undergraduate courses with a spirit to really enjoy the programs. Their participation in extracurricular activities and corporate social responsibility programs still remains limited. To some extent this may be due to the guidance they get from their lecturers who forget the human and social purpose of their work. Wouldn’t it be more interesting if they taught using anecdotes about the lives of the great discoverers and inspired the students to search the web for new ideas!

(…) Our country, like many others, is facing the sad problem of increasing unemployment. Technology and misallocation and at times misappropriation of resources are often blamed for such a situation. Our graduates, if properly channeled, can be instrumental in coming up with solutions in the small, medium and big enterprises. They have to be encouraged to set up their own enterprises rather than wait months and years for a job.

Is it not time for policy makers to set up channels and organize public debates, seminars and conferences on the future of our educational system in Mauritius? After all, our very future and that of generations to come is at stake. We can inspire ourselves with solutions coming from outside but the appropriate solutions must come from within.