I would like to start by thinking in retrospect about those days in the 1960s when I was a postgraduate student in the University of London. Students hailing from all over the world, were accommodated in huge halls; the Macmillan Hall and Beveridge Hall, each having a capacity to accommodate up to 500 students, I guess. The professor lectured in one of the two halls while the lecture was relayed live to the other hall where students followed it, watching the professor on TV screen. Today there must be universities worldwide, including London where this approach still exists. I would like here to mention Professor Surendra Bissoondoyal?s statement that ?our world-class minister has made a fantastic discovery...that a hall can accommodate 500 people.? (express 22nd August 2007) Obviously I am of the same opinion. We cannot imagine students forcefully submitting proposals that too often go beyond reasonable limits. Group projects and dissertations indeed existed and still exist in international universities. Professor Fagoonee, the vice-chancellor, has said nothing alarming when he mentions that he has ?invented nothing new. Group work exists in all foreign countries.? So, whether we talk of minor or major group dissertations, we should consider that it is too bold a statement to say that there is anything ?ridiculous? or ?absurd? about it. It is a well established and known reality that universities like London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, do positively consider teamwork, as part of the requirements for student performance assessment. One cannot envisage any project during the course of studies that should be termed minor or major. Whatever be the level of students? assignments, they all contribute to evaluating the performance of the students. Whether a work is done by a group of students, or by an individual, a method of evaluation is bound to be devised where the contribution of each student within the group can be assessed. This is the responsibility of the lecturers. For example, tutorials, or student group discussion classes can be organised where each member of the group undergoes oral tests in a sustained and continuous basis, right from the beginning of the approved project until the time of submission. I don?t think that lecturers should be too apprehensive about not being able to assess and maintain meritocracy within the group of students.

Among the students who have freshly emerged from the present secondary school system, I think it can be simply a matter of ?fear of change?. It is no secret that at the secondary school level, it was so different; it was the ?arms around the book? attitude inculcated by the very system with a view to getting a few more marks in the fierce competition that is the Higher School Certificate examination. But if change can bring about progress, in all its forms, then change there should be. We don?t think that the individualistic approach of our secondary school system should be perpetuated to the extent of being fossilized, should it be deemed detrimental in the long run. We are confident that the discovery of the benefits of group work can work wonders in the course of a very short time, as soon as students (and lecturers ) find out the advantages of it. ?Throw him into the pond, and he will swim ? if not, give him a helping hand so he does not drown,? can we say in another context. Not being able to swim, at first, is no reason for avoiding the swimming pool. Not being within the students? habits to use group work is no excuse for refraining from indulging in the practice. The chairperson of the University Of Mauritius, Professor Soodursun Jugessur, explains that ?group and team work will be increasingly important in the future?. This, I firmly believe is a laudable foresight. I would add that, besides a spirit of cooperation and joint venture, a sense of new discovery and versatility can also be attained by the students in their group venture.

As appointed honorary fellow of Flinders University, South Australia in the 1990?s, I am more or less conversant with the systems existing there, one being the promotion of the ability to work in group projects and dissertations; this last being quite popular and desirable among students. The difficulties, if any, in monitoring the approach, appear to be non existent. Solutions to problems can always be found, as it is worthwhile to benefit enormously from the joint venture among students. My guess is that, although it is believed that financial constraint may be the reason for new proposals at the UOM, it is a happy coincidence. Working as a team is an approach that is bound to wash towards the shore of Mauritius sooner rather than later. ?It is a blessing in disguise?, says Professor Jugessur. If we want a world-class education, students will have to follow the rules of the game.

<B>Andre WAN CHOW WAH</B> Associate Professor