The minister of Education, Dharam Gokhool, has fewer and fewer fans. After one of his greatest defenders, the president of the Government Hindi Teachers’ Union (GHTU), Sutthydeo Tengur, protested in front of his office to demand his resignation, it will be the turn of the Primary Common Front next Tuesday. The unionist did not mince his words and expressed many criticisms towards minister Gokhool whom he supported a year ago when he was elected.

The main reason for the protest last Thursday was the appointment of 50 mentors on 18th May. “Teachers with university degrees and diplomas have not been appointed while some of the appointed mentors do not even have a teachers’ diploma,” he complained. Sutthydeo Tengur is also dissatisfied that no oriental language teacher has been appointed.

But this problem could have been the last straw for the GHTU president. It seems as if he has constantly been disappointed by the minister as the months have passed by. Hence, the protest to demand the latter’s resignation seems to be the result of a long process. “The ministry of Education has fallen asleep. There are only big speeches but there is nothing concrete in schools. There is a need to restore order in the ministry,” the Government Urdu Teachers’ Union (GUTU), Haniff Peerun, commented.

The teachers complain about the lack of action by the ministry. The Literacy and Numeracy project, launched in 2003, is among the many projects that have never really moved forward since then. The report, aimed at reducing the failure rate in primary schools, has been ready since December but nothing has been done to implement it.

<B>Overwhelmed with work</B>

Moreover, the budget has been reduced by 25% - from Rs 60 to Rs 40 million. The fact that there is no intention of employing more teachers means that those working will be overwhelmed with work and will have to face increasingly overcrowded classes.

Faced with so many problems, the Primary Common Front has decided not to remain silent either. Next Tuesday, its members will get together in front of the ministry in Phoenix to ask for the minister’s resignation. Likewise, other unions and stakeholders are meeting at the moment to try and adopt a common approach.

The opposition might also have seized the opportunity of such a tense atmosphere to express their anxiety towards the Gokhool reform. The women’s commission of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) held a meeting last Saturday where they invited the former minister of Education, Steven Obeegadoo, to express his views on the Gokhool reform.

As he has done since the beginning of the debate over the new system, the former minister went once more over the stress and tension that the reform will cause. He made it clear that the system will only benefit 3% of students while leaving the majority out on the streets. He pointed out that all countries in the world are going in the other direction, that is, putting every child on the same level.

Hence, he called upon the people present to mobilise against the reform and make sure the government back-pedals. Citizen commitment may indeed be the only way of putting enough pressure on the government to make sure it does not implement the reform as it stands.

A burst of reaction from stakeholders in the sector is happening at the moment. They all look determined to act and minister Gokhool might find it difficult to make them change their minds. Sutthydeo Tengur revealed that he was no longer interested in having discussions with the minister and that “the government should draw lessons from what is happening and take appropriate action”.