Port Louis — New students at the university are not so nervous about the course content but are a bit stressed about having less "back-up" than they had at school. Orientation sessions and 0lecturers' support should help them to achieve more autonomy in their adult lives.

Before starting at the university yesterday, all students were invited to orientation sessions last week to get them used to their new environment and prepare them for a new style of learning.

It is 9.30 on the campus of the University of Mauritius (UoM). On this first day of the year, the area is full of new students waiting for their first lectures. The course actually starts at 10 am but they prefer to be there well in advance on their first day to get used to their new environment and an atmosphere which is very different from that at school. If they are not so worried about the content of courses, most students are a bit nervous about "working on our own and becoming independent learners". This appears as the major change between school and their tertiary studies.

Kushal Boyjoo, Sam Ramguttee and Ashvin Gujadhur are all starting their Bsc in Mathematics on this Monday morning. Sam has added computer science to his curriculum. They find the atmosphere of the university pleasant - even "cooler" than the one at school, according to Ashvin - but Kushal is already aware that it will be much tougher than what they have been doing at school. "We will have to work on our own and with friends," he said. The fact that they all come from Royal College Curepipe will help them a lot, as they already know each other.

Amrita Nivault, in charge of the Public Relations department at the UoM and a member of the orientation committee, agreed that teamwork is a crucial component in university life. "Studying at university is very different from studying at school; students not only have to work for themselves in order to master a topic but they are also getting ready for their lives as adults," she pointed out. "University should prepare its students for living in society and making their contribution to it. This is why I encourage students to work with their teachers, fellow students and friends. But I insist on them working with students from other faculties too - in some of the extra-curricular activities for instance," she added. The community platforms have been organised with this in mind - to make sure students from different faculties do something together.

No more spoon-feeding

Pooja Boodhoo and her friend Anjum Koodaruth are equally nervous about taking that step into university. "We were warned that we will be less spoon-fed than at school during our orientation day last Tuesday. Lecturers were very welcoming and told us they would support us but they also made it clear that we would have to be much more autonomous in the way we learn," commented Pooja.

The whole week before the beginning of the year is dedicated to preparing students to face their first days at university. "In their speeches, lecturers and the management all highlighted the differences between university and school insisting on independent learning, self-motivation and research," stated Amrita Nivault.

As a member of the orientation committee, she laid a lot of emphasis on autonomy. "I tell students that they will have to work to obtain their diplomas but they will also have to work on who they will become as adults. We want to develop their personalities in such a way as to help them adapt to the world of work. They have to give up their dependent attitudes to participate more in the learning process," she further explained.

However, the orientation session is not the only time when students get some preparation. Each faculty has its own programme coordinator who makes sure that the changes in methods of working are not imposed too suddenly. In his welcome speech, the dean of the science faculty, Associate Professor Henri Tin Yan Li Kam Wah, said, "Contrarily to what you have encountered at secondary school, studying science at the UoM can prove to be very different. A lot of independent learning will be required in addition to teamwork". But he also made it clear that, "our staff will endeavour to support you in your studies and adopt an open-door attitude by being approachable, friendly and readily available".

Lecturers play an important role in helping learners develop the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to make them into independent learners. They have to create opportunities asnd experiences which encourage student motivation, curiosity, self-confidence and self-reliance. The learning environment created by the teacher and the relationship between teachers and learners can be strong motivators for students. More than the rote learning of skills and facts, this approach to learning encourages students to make meaning for themselves, based on their understanding of why and how new knowledge is related to their own experiences, interests and needs.

Life skills

The idea behind becoming independent learners is that independence will then become a life skill to assist them in preparing for new situations and experiences. For that to happen however, learning must be meaningful to them, the knowledge must be useful and must provide them with a means of achieving a desired goal.

The Faculty of Social Studies and Humanities wants to provide this type of environment for their students. As its dean, Satinder Dhanaswar Ragobur, pointed out in his welcoming speech, "the objective of the faculty is to provide for a learning environment through which the students are enabled to develop their knowledge and critical thinking and become competent and independent". He committed to "provide the facilities and the environment necessary to ensure that students can achieve the learning objectives and expectations".

SECONDARY STUDIES

Some things which are lacking at school level

â- If students are so nervous about becoming independent, it may be because school does not prepare them at all for achieving autonomy in the way they learn. Probably because the system is so exam-oriented, many pupils do not take time for reflection and critical thinking. Many teachers are afraid of not finishing their programme and give little time to developing such skills in their pupils. "My personal opinion is that a pupil is prepared to answer specific questions in the Higher School Certificate," said the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) director, Lucien Finette, when he was asked to compare the HSC with the International Baccalaureate. The HSC is a pre-requisite to start tertiary studies and a pre-university qualification in terms of content but pupils are not provided with methodologies to become independent learners. The main motivation at that level for many is obtaining the certificate rather than learning skills or knowledge.