The Minister of Tertiary Education, Science and Research, Dr Kaviraj Sharma Sukon, proceeded to the official launch of six Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Benchmarking Reports and the Guidelines on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education, this morning, in Ebene.
The initiative is a joint collaboration of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning. This achievement, part of the TEL Phase 4 initiative, marks a major milestone in Mauritius' national agenda for digital transformation and institutional strengthening across the higher education sector.
In his address the Minister underlined that the Open Educational Resources (OER) is a laudable project that should be pursued and consolidated. He called upon higher education institutions to contribute to the production of OER to increase its repository.
Speaking about the integration of AI in the education sector, Dr Sukon emphasised that if used judiciously, it can help learning take place and support teaching. As regards, the use of blended learning, he illustrated its integration in the teaching of various subjects, underpinning how technology can help educators teach differently to get students further engaged.
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Minister Sukon called upon educators of higher education institutions to integrate the OER made available to them, as well as the large volume of resources provided on online platforms in their lectures. According to him, traditional means of teaching should make way to modern ones, so that we converge towards personalised learning.
"We should all endeavour to implement these tools in our education system", he said, adding that, all our efforts have to be geared to ensure that we cater for personalised learning for our community.
TEL Benchmarking
The TEL Benchmarking initiative was implemented using COL's Benchmarking Toolkit for Technology-Enabled Learning, with the aim of enabling Higher Education Institutions to assess their digital capacity, identify strengths and challenges, and design targeted strategies for improvement.
Launched in March 2025, the initiative brought together 95 academic and administrative staff from six public Higher Education Institutions who formed institutional working groups to lead the process. A national orientation session, facilitated by Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist at COL, initiated the activity. This was followed by a series of virtual consultations and on-site review meetings that ensured a consistent, rigorous, and collaborative approach to the self-assessment process.
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Each report presents validated insights across ten key domains and includes tailored, actionable recommendations to support future institutional development.
Guidelines on use of AI
Alongside TEL benchmarking, Phase 4 introduced a forward-looking approach to support the responsible integration of AI into higher education systems. In light of the growing role of AI in shaping learning, teaching, and assessment, HEC spearheaded the development of Guidelines on the use of AI in Higher Education, to help institutions adopt AI tools in a strategic and ethical manner.
The formulation of the AI Guidelines was steered by a methodical, participatory process. It began with the administration of three nationwide surveys, targeting educational leaders, academic staff, and students across both public and private HEIs, to assess the current use, understanding, and perceptions of AI in higher education.
