● <B>Why are reforms so difficult to achieve in the education sector in Mauritius?</B>

It?s not unique to Mauritius. Everywhere in the world, education is a difficult sector to reform. Three main reasons can explain this. Schools are where are played out all the big issues of society & politics. They disseminate knowledge and teach what a country wants its future citizens to know. During these last two years, I?ve been working a lot on education in Africa. Several governments on the continent are trying to democratize access to schools through pedagogical and curriculum reforms. They are often confronted to the strong opposition of the elites. In the long run, these issues make education dysfunctional.

● <B>What are the other reasons?</B>

Because education concerns kids, parents tend to be very resistant to reform. Everybody considers himself to be an expert in education, even more so when it comes to parents. Some parents say that it?s their children, their future and because they have themselves been to school, they know how to do it. We have to be understanding about that. The third factor is that teaching in itself is something very difficult. Teachers who were trained yesterday, are teaching today what will be put into practice by the pupils tomorrow. I would also add that, as a small island, we sometimes suffer from an insular mentality. We don?t have close neighbours with whom we could compare our experiences.

<I>«I would also add that, as a small island, we sometimes suffer from an insular mentality. We don?t have close neighbours with whom we could compare our experiences.»</I>

● <B>Recently, there were heated debates about the extension of school hours in colleges. It turned out to be a real tug of war between the ministry of Education and the trade unions?</B>

I would say that every pedagogical project that aims to extend school hours is interesting. When I was minister, I did the same thing in the primary sector, to introduce a literacy & numeracy program. It wasn?t easy to have it accepted by teachers. Extending school hours is an international trend. Even in France, they worked on it. But the purpose of extending hours should be to help students with learning difficulties. Mauritius should compare with what is happening elsewhere. We should not work in an isolated manner. Statistics shows that sub-Saharan Africa is close to the world average when it comes to time spent by students in schools. It?s true in theory, but, in practice, it?s a whole different story. In Mauritius, for instance, classes end well before the end of the school year. Added to this, there?s a lot of absenteeism. Even more so in Form V and Upper VI. And I?m not talking about the quality of teaching in some classes. These problems should be tackled with seriousness and urgency by the government.

● <B> One of the main problems in our education sector is that tuition classes have grown to become a parallel system?</B>

Well, Mauritius is not alone. A lot of countries, mainly in Asia, are confronted with the same issues. Even in Europe and in Africa, there?s more and more demand. There?s a perception that education offered in school is not adapted to the real needs of the students. A lot of parents think that those who follow tuition classes will have more chances of succeeding. This phenomenon becomes more important when a system is competitive and when the exams are defined to fill in a certain number of places. Concerning teachers, they have long understood that giving tuitions is a very lucrative activity. That?s why there?s a lot of competition amongst teachers to get access to schools in regions where people have money. When it becomes an industry, there is a big wastage of public money. While the State is spending money to run the school and to pay the teachers, those same teachers give tuitions after school hours for which parents are paying. It?s a rather ridiculous situation. Studies show that this system also creates a wider gap between rich and poor.

● <B>How can we put an end to this?</B>

The quality of teaching will have to be raised in schools. That?s a major factor. The State cannot allow itself to ignore the problem. Actions have to be taken. I don?t think, however, that repression is a solution. We saw it in South Korea where they tried to prohibit private tuitions. Parents never accepted the move and a court judgement said it was a fundamental right for a parent to allow his child to take tuitions. I think a better solution would be to have new regulations to try to reduce the impact of these tuitions. Another way would be for the State to pay the tuition fees for children in need, on condition that it takes place in schools.