Mauritius: High Literacy Due to Country's Size and Vision, Says Education Minister

4 December 2003
allAfrica.com
By Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Grande Baie, Mauritius — The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has a population of just 1.2m. But it boasts a high literacy rate and a country that is technically bilingual - or trilingual, combining English, French and Creole. Since 1970, primary schooling has been compulsory for all Mauritian children, who are supposed to spend an average of nine years in the classroom. The authorities are hoping to make full secondary education obligatory too. AllAfrica’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton is in Mauritius for the 6th biennial conference of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), 3-6 December. So, how successful has the Mauritian education experiment been? She talked to Steven Obeegadoo, the island’s minister of education and scientific research. Excerpts.

What is the literacy rate in Mauritius?

Well the literacy rate has been the subject of controversy. It is generally acknowledged that the literacy rate exceeds 80 percent.

Isn’t that extraordinary in an African country? When you view the entire continent and the average continental literacy rate - whether it is indeed 80 percent or I’ve also heard it estimated at 69 percent - that’s an extraordinary achievement for a small island.

Yes, I think there are three explanatory factors. The first is the size of the country that has worked in our favour, we’re lucky. Being small has allowed us to move much faster on the road to 'Education for All' (EFA) over many, many years.

Secondly, a shared vision by all governments that have come and gone in democratic Mauritius, that education, that the development of our human resources, should be at the heart of our development strategy; that there is a need to invest in the social infrastructure. That is why education has been given great importance throughout the years, with a consistent emphasis on schooling.

Thirdly, we have a population which is composed of settlers; people who came from different parts of the world, with different cultures, from the four corners of the world. So, we are lucky. They had to work very hard to achieve a respectable place within society. So there is this deep understanding of the need for education.

I believe Mauritians, Mauritian families, are very committed to hard work and to the task of educating their children Education and schooling are generally perceived as the only avenue of progress towards attaining a respectable place in society and achieving a certain social status.

But we still have huge strides to make in education. We still have a long way to go.

Mr Obeegadoo, does the fact that Mauritians take education so seriously and encourage their children to go to school make your job as minister of education and scientific research that much easier? After all, you look at other countries on the continent where ministers are having to beg some parents to send their children to school -

Well it is certainly a thrilling job! because in education one’s work is never over. Managing education is an enormous challenge with manifold expressions. Ensuring access to education to everybody - but ensuring not only access, but that the education imparted is relevant to the youth and to the needs of the country - in the sense that it provides to our young people the essential life skills, while also preparing them for the world of work - I think that is an enormous challenge.

And then there is the issue of quality overall; providing quality services in education, infrastructure, pedagogical material, pedagogy and achievement rates. All that makes the job of a minister of education in Mauritius - as everywhere else across the world - very interesting indeed.

What about the vexed issue of bilingualism here in Mauritius? Are you turning out school graduates who are reasonably good in English, French and Creole, but don’t excel in speaking or writing any of those languages?

That is a very real problem we face. There needs to be greater use made of the language of the environment. The mother tongue of Mauritians in education has been a very hot subject of debate over many, many years. We are trying to move cautiously forward in that such a strategy is doomed to failure if it is not sustainable in the sense of having public opinion supporting such a venture.

But you are absolutely right. While we pride ourselves on a being a bilingual country - and also having preserved the ancestral languages of our people - we do have a very important challenge, in the sense of making better use of languages of the environment to promote achievement in education, yes.

When you say languages of the environment, what precisely do you mean and are you turning out bilingual or trilingual citizens or not?

We are certainly producing young Mauritians who have a very acceptable level of mastery of English and French and other languages. While doing so, there is still a high percentage of children who leave school without being able to read, write and count properly, one of the reasons being that no adequate recognition was given to the language of the environment. Had there been such recognition, this would have facilitated mastery of basic skills.

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