They are finally relieved today after the Maths paper. Pupils sitting for the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) exams must have had a hard time over the past few days and weeks. Last Thursday and Friday, they started the so-much feared CPE exams that will determine their lives for the next seven years. Many may already be anxious about the results – which will be released on 16th December – as they will be the determining factor for the choice of their secondary school.

Among the 28,286 candidates, only 1,260 will be admitted to one of the eight “national colleges”. With the reform introduced by the minister of Education, Dharam Gokhool, soon after he took up his post, only pupils obtaining A+ grading (between 90% and 100%) will be alloted a seat in a national college. The others will have to content themselves with a seat in one of the other schools even if they obtain excellent results. As the CPE has reverted to its old system of competition, the analysis of the results of a pupil does not mean anything if it is not compared with those of others.

Yet, many of the pupils considered these exams as very important – to the detriment of hobbies or other activities. Under the pressure of parents or teachers, many took private tuition everyday to make sure they would obtain better results than their friends. All this was done to obtain a seat in the college that their parents chose when they submitted their forms to the authorities.

Even if they get a “good” college, some children may keep this feeling of failure for a long time if they are not accepted in the one they or their parents chose for them. Many of these parents want the best for their children but they put unnecessary and detrimental pressure on them.

<I>The fact that minister Gokhool has always told parents they should give their children a chance to make part of the elite did not help at all. Just as the near silence of the civil society which has never claimed their refusal of the reform.</I>

The fact that minister Gokhool has always told parents they should support their children in their education and give them every chance to become part of the elite did not help at all. Neither did the near-silence of civil society which has never really expressed its refusal of the reform. Except for some individuals who came to the forefront to state their opposition, the majority remained silent and this allowed the minister to implement his counter-reform with impunity.

Only time will tell if the reform will, as stated by the minister, urge pupils to work harder and obtain better results. However, statistics show that ranking has never helped the majority of children to have better results. On the contrary, it may even make those who have fallen behind for one reason or another feel even more rejected and not make any effort to progress.

<B>Situation in private colleges causes tension</B>

Managers of private colleges want to be heard by the ministry of Education. And, if it means not opening their schools in January 2007, they will not hesitate. They assert they are all looking in the same direction, “for once”, and intend to seize this opportunity to attract attention to their problems. They want the ministry to offer a clear explanation about some decisions that have been taken in the sector – particularly those concerning their grants. They want to start discussions with the authorities but the latter have not made any response, according to them. The ministry believes that the authorities concerned with the private colleges should be the Private Secondary School Authority (PSSA) and the Mauritius Audit Bureau (MAB), which made the proposal over the grants. But the Union of Private Secondary Education Employees (UPSEE) sticks to its stand. “In case of deadlock, we will do everything possible to rally parents, students and teachers to our cause. Before reaching a lock-out in January, we will make sure everyone understands the reasons for our action,” declared Rajen Chamroo, spokesperson for the Federation of Managers of Private Colleges.