I feel highly gratified by the honour of being invited as chief guest for this morning?s function and will recall some events reminiscent of my close association with Royal College Curepipe ? as a student and then teacher for around 12 years. By definition, ?reminiscence? is the enjoyable recollection of events. At my age, I can?t expect much from the future ? hence I find a lot of pleasure looking back with nostalgia at the good old days associated with our ?alma mater? ? in the 1950s and part of the 1960s ? ?où il faisait réellement bon vivre à l?île Maurice.?

Good old days ? free from wickedness, jealousy and violence ? where we could roam about without fear of being assaulted, mugged, wounded or even left bleeding to death.

When we had respect for our elders and teachers. Years after I had left school I enjoyed meeting my ex-teachers and exchanging views with them.

We had not yet been perverted by porn material; films, magazines and shows No 1/2/3/4 or 5 were unheard of. Sex was a taboo subject in the family and at school ? though I now appreciate the free and frank discussions some pupils have with their teachers. No doubt youngsters had girlfriends ? contacts were restricted, however ? holding the hand of a girl or stealing a kiss would be considered as an exploit with a few exceptions, I must admit. Unfortunately times have changed for the worse.

But we should not despair. By virtue of my profession, every year I come across many decent young boys and girls from decent families ? young adults who are well-behaved, respectable and work hard to face a highly competitive world. You are no doubt living examples of this. All hope is not yet lost, though we must always be vigilant and assist those needing our help and guidance.

Let me now recall some events that have left their imprint on me. My first recollection of the RCC was when I came for an entrance examination and an interview for admission to Form II by two austere teachers in no less austere surroundings. Why Form II? Rectors in the British colonial days were very strict ? I never said they are not now ? seven young boys who had failed Form I and whose conduct, I was told, had not been good ? were peremptorily dismissed from school without intervention from the department of education. There was no ministry then. Hence the seven vacancies for Form II: I had been admitted to Form I already, after winning as a pupil of St Joseph?s college, one of the six scholarships which opened the doors of the RCC wide open to the winners of same - education was not yet free ? with tuition, books and a stipend of Rs 25 per month. There were two examinations in those days at Std. VI level ? the first a qualifying examination to select pupils who were apt to take the scholarship examination after four weeks and also compete for an admission to For I.

Those who secured one of the fifty odd places could consider themselves very lucky.

Admission to Form I has never been a ?smooth? affair ? the system has undergone several reforms. From the two selection examinations in the 1950s, we have moved to one. The controversy over ranking and grading is still rife.

Enough has been said about the merits of grading or ranking. I will refrain from speaking about this matter ? which by the way is sub-judice. But I?ll say without hesitation that I support the idea of an elite. Without an elite, we are doomed. Our elitist system has so far contributed to progress in this country in many fields and should continue to do so.

Suffice it to say that there are enough schools and institutions to cater for different abilities. Some should be provided with appropriate and trained staff.

Nowadays, with the increasing number of State schools and good private secondary schools,no one is left aside. The sooner we admit that there are, among children, different abilities or that they are not all meant for purely academic education, the better it will be.

Anyway, I was admitted to Form II and spent some of the happiest moments of my youth there. Where you are sitting now, there was a football pitch. I recall for example, epic matches between students and staff.

As a young teacher, I organised tours and camps for my pupils, not to mention other extra-curricular activities. I remember working with a team of five or six young, serious, mature young men to edit a magazine of a good standing. They acquired a sense of responsibility and have done well in life. If I had been a martinet during the term ? during the holidays, I shed my teacher?s cloak and socialised with about forty pupils ? sleeping under canvas, cooking and sharing food and singing. These were moments I have always treasured ? so do some ex-campers, I meet at times.

As a student, I studied the classics ? English, French, Latin and Greek. The choice was limited ? Arts and Science ? no economic and no technical streams. Career prospects were limited. Some classical students though did medicine, as the best British universities required a knowledge of Latin for medical studies.

I am delighted that steps are being taken for all students to study science up to Form V, without which education is not complete in a highly technological world. Similarly, I have noted with regret that Science students or students in general are not enough exposed to literature. Some display a glaring ignorance of Shakespeare, Keats, Corneille, Racine or Tagore.

Again, as a young teacher fresh from university, I taught without grumbling, English, French, Latin and some history. Those were the days when we talked of ?Our ancestors the Gauls?. I was lucky to have had a British rector, Mr Brian Bullen. I had no teaching experience - but I was lucky that he actually took me under his wing ? guiding me at every step of my career, coming and spending a whole period or two at the back of the class, making notes and discussing later the weak and strong points of the lesson. He would come back after two or three weeks to see if remedial action had been taken. I know some rectors do this now. I wish the number would increase. When officers of the ministry came to assess me for confirmation as education officer, I had no difficulty coping.

It was seven years later that I was sent overseas for training to teach English as a second language. Now the MIE provides in-service training to teachers. Unfortunately, these have to wait for a long time before being selected. Hence the need for rectors and inspectors of the ministry to constantly guide and monitor young teachers. It is imperative, though, that administrators, rectors, and inspectors themselves receive appropriate training and constantly upgrade themselves to be better able to do a meaningful job.

A word for the students now: from what I have noticed with students , not enough written work is set and marked. Yet, students need constant practice and exposure to English. They should realise the importance of reading appropriate material and keeping abreast of current events by watching news on TV. They should refrain from reproducing material textually from the Internet and the encyclopaedia and then feel totally lost when they have to cope alone in the examination room. They should also not neglect the essential tools for expression, far too often neglected in upper classes.

To those leaving for university soon and to the laureates still here, I wish the best of luck in their studies and future career. Do come back and serve your country. I congratulate all prize winners and wish better luck to the others.

Finally, a word about the Old Royals? Association. All outgoing students should make it a point to join the association, which should become a respected caucus to which adherence should be a privilege. I am a member of the Association ? this gives me the opportunity to keep in touch with and follow the progress and trends in the RCC.

I know, for example, that the school is expected again to do very well in the end-of-year Cambridge examinations and to have yet another crop of laureates. Best of luck to all those concerned.

Madam rector ? rectress sounds odd and doesn?t exist anyway. There is a word rectrix though, which means a layer of feathers in a bird?s tail used for steering and controlling in flight. So, Mrs Nabheebucus, as Mr Bullen did with me years ago ? I hope you will also be rectrix ? and take these youngsters entrusted to your care under your wings and steer them in flight at all times in their quest for knowledge and excellence on which you lay so much stress here.

<B>Prem BURTON</B>