I must admit that I was rather skeptical about one statement made by Raj Meetarbhan in his editorial «Les vaches sacrées» that appeared on Friday 22nd February. I always believed that one needed a Cambridge HSC to seek entry to a British University but the editorialist maintains that this is not true. He affirmed that «il est vrai que de nombreux parents pensent que sans le certificat de Cambridge, leurs enfants ne pourront pas poursuivre des études à l?étranger. Cette peur est totalement infondée». I have enquired about the subject and have discovered that most Mauritians have been kept in the dark up to now. In fact Cambridge certificates are not the only key to prestigious universities. I found out, for example, in the prospectus of one well-known university that I obtained at a recent education fair the following : «We accept a minimum of two A-levels with appropriate grades. Students with qualifications from recognized examination boards from other countries are also accepted for entry. Popular recognized qualifications include WAEC (Nigeria), KCSE (Kenya), NECTA (Tanzania), UCE (Uganda), Intermediate (Pakistan) and other 12th grade examinations.» Yesterday the MES exposed yet another blunder from HSC markers. One wonders if it is not high time that we follow the footsteps of Tanzania, Uganda and other so-called Thirld-World States.

<B>A student</B>

<B>«Des diplômes achetés»</B>

Pour faire suite à votre article sur les appréhensions du Medical Council en ce qui concerne les diplômes obtenus en Russie, Ukraine etc, je voudrais vous faire savoir qu?il y a d?autres personnes avec des diplômes «achetés» dans des pays douteux, qui exercent comme pharmaciens, dentistes, médecins et d?autres professions à travers le pays, spécialement dans le sud, Grand-Port.

Ils ne font que vendre des médicaments sur le marché. Ce sont des personnes sans scrupules qui s?enrichissent sur le dos des pauvres habitants de la campagne.

Victoire</B>