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Mauritius: Uncertain Future for Private Colleges
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L'Express (Port Louis)
18 March 2008
Posted to the web 18 March 2008
Bilkiss Jaffaralli
Port Louis
Members of the Federation of private colleges have been fighting for their survival.
With the recent closedown of three private colleges and state secondary schools being opened in almost every region, the future of private colleges seems to be quite uncertain. In such conditions, will private colleges be able to maintain their place?
Previously there were many small private colleges, especially in the rural areas, to welcome students with an average standard of results or to cater for underprivileged students. Today the future of private colleges seems to be uncertain, as the particular conditions which used to exist and which used to contribute to their success are fading.
Financial constraints
At a certain time, many underprivileged students were unable to go to secondary school because there was no college in their region or those that existed were too far away from their homes. Due to financial constraints, many could not attend school. Today, even this problem is solved. State secondary schools have been popping up like mushrooms in almost every region during the past few years and their intake has also increased. This has certainly been a good thing as it has allowed a greater number of students to have access to secondary education while resolving transport problems too but it has caused the number of students attending private colleges to fall drastically. Today, both parents and students are opting for state secondary schools rather than private schools.
Where the factors which used to cause the success of private colleges are fading, their future is coming under threat. For Jagdish Rupear, the head of Presidency College, Rivière Des Anguilles, the future is far from hopeful. "The future is really bleak for private colleges and especially for the small ones. We have observed that during the last three years, the number of students taking part in the CPE examination has decreased and this has brought down the student population. This is certainly due to family planning. People are moving towards towns and we are gradually losing our stand in villages. I think that in such a situation, only a few colleges which have been able to create a good reputation for themselves will be able to survive", says Jagdish Rupear.
No plan of action by the government
Indeed, today there are certain private colleges which are considered as the star colleges of Mauritius and for which there is a greater demand than the state colleges. The reasons for their success are various. Due to their good reputation and to the fact that they have recruited the better-ranked students, they are today the colleges most in demand.
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If some confessional colleges are free, others charge fees but there is a growing demand for such colleges. The reason is that both academic and cultural education is offered by them.
For Tejnarain Chamroo, spokesperson of the "Féderation des Responsables des Colleges Privés", the future of private colleges is uncertain because there has not been any planning concerning this sector by the government. "The government does not want to establish any plan for us. We are functioning in a desert. Indeed, they are trying to eliminate small colleges. The private colleges are doing a better job than the state colleges as the state colleges have the best pupils but we are working hard to get better results with the rest", says Tejnarain Chamroo.
The future of private colleges does seem to be uncertain. If closing down certain small private colleges seems to be the best option, today there is an urgent need for the government to set up a better plan and a better framework so that the other private colleges can function properly and continue to exist.
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