allAfrica.com: Mauritius: Can Citizenship Education Make Independence Day More Meaningful to Pupils? (Page 1 of 1)

Mauritius: Can Citizenship Education Make Independence Day More Meaningful to Pupils?

As tradition demands, all schools will today have a guest of honour, who will speak about the Mauritian nation to pupils. But far too often children are more excited about the food and drinks than reflecting on the real meaning of this celebration

The school should make sure the feeling of patriotism is not limited to the 12th March.

All pupils in all schools of the country will be standing proudly in the hall or playground today with their flags in their hands striking up the national anthem with one voice. And on Thursday they will most probably have forgotten about everything they heard during the celebrations of our 40th anniversary of independence. Because citizenship values and civic responsibility are not yet integral parts of teaching at primary level and teachers still focus on subjects such as Mathematics, French and English rather than on basic skills for a better life in society.

The main debate on introducing citizenship education in school has been about implementing it as a subject or simply making sure that teachers inject such values into their daily activities in the classroom. The previous government indeed faced many criticisms when it dared introduce it as a subject in the curriculum. But here again, the problem was that the subject was not examinable so there was no guarantee that it was in fact tackled.

The introduction of what is called co-curricular subjects like citizenship education and life skills is among the components of the new curriculum that the ministry of Education will be implementing. However, this will not be possible as long as the curriculum is not deloaded as recommended by the new curriculum framework. It is clear that a teacher will prefer to make sure all his/her pupils have the necessary tools to sit for the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) in time rather than inculcating values that will not be useful for that exam which has - rightly or wrongly - so much importance in the education system.

The director of the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES), Lucien Finette, does not mince his words, "I do not think teachers have time to do citizenship education in their classroom. Education at present is exam-oriented and does not train the child as a human being. The system does not give time to the most important facets of education."

Some rectors state that they dedicate special time to inculcating such values in their morning assembly. This is the case at La Confiance College for instance where the rector, Wills Daurat, makes it clear that he seizes this opportunity to pass on important values to his pupils. It is also the case at Piton State School where "teachers seize the opportunity of every class or the morning assembly to pass on such values to their pupils. This is also done at the level of the whole school as each occasion or celebration is an opportunity for a little party. It creates a special atmosphere at school and pupils assimilate it very well," as the French teacher, George Easton, explained. This may be the case in many more schools but there is no guarantee that all schools do it everyday.

The fact that there is no proper citizenship education at school may lead to a certain amount of drifting among members of society later. Sociologist Sheila Bunwaree indeed thinks that the problem is one of basic education. "The concept of respect for others is not rooted enough in our system of socialization and at school. Instead of opening children to others, the system tends to make them withdraw into themselves."

Selfish behaviour

This can lead to selfish behaviour that is to be deplored on certain occasions. "When it comes to their relatives or their immediate environment, their attitude will be fundamentally different. People know what it is to help others but they have no respect for people not close to them," said Ms Bunwaree.

Likewise the fact that teachers do not find time to deal with civic values may also lead to communal tensions in the future. Citizenship education can be a way of pointing towards life in a multicultural society, for instance. The education system has for long paid little attention to the multi-cultural heritage of country and it is only recently that school has found some space to include different influences with the introduction of oriental languages, for instance.

Being a patriot means showing pride in belonging to an independent country. It is also about forgetting the hypocrisy of the former generations and finding ways of asserting the plural identity of the country. According to the senior lecturer of the Mauritius Institute of Education, Rada Tirvassen, the only way of doing so is to have teachers who believe in such values and who apply them in their daily lives - and particularly at school. "It is at school that seeds of peace and respect are sown and the process can't wait," stated George Easton.

Otherwise, the celebration on 12th March will forever be limited to a public holiday and big festivities like the concert organized this year. Pupils should be helped to understand the real values that should constitute the independent island of Mauritius and proudly hold up their flags with this in mind in the future

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