The country?s human capital is an important link in the chain between the schooling/training system and the labour market. The outputs of the education/training system are the inputs to the labour market/s ? whether national, regional and international. As the country prepares itself to celebrate Labour Day, the following questions should also be posed: Are we doing enough to ensure that fellow citizens are living in the best possible conditions and enjoying adequate welfare. Is the state creating equal opportunities in both the education system and the labour market or is it hiding behind a false ideology of meritocracy and ability to justify and legitimise the positions of the privileged few. Time and again, we have highlighted that access to education does not imply equitable education. Many, even in the government camp know that it was absurd and an act of ?fiscal irresponsibility? to provide free transport. It was a political bait ? a vote magnet. Perhaps the crave for power and/or the fear of what they would lose if they were to denounce it prevented them from opposing it. In his editorial of last Sunday, Jean Claude de L?Estrac aptly reminds us of how the functioning of some of our politicians can contribute to a sense of disillusionment amongst the mass of workers. He notes: ?La déception se manifestera forcément tant que les partis politiques, tous les partis politiques, continueront à faire croire aux électeurs, quand ils sont dans l?opposition, qu?ils peuvent absolument tout faire pour rendre leur vie rose et agréable en sachant pertinemment quelles sont les limites de leurs actions. Prenons l?exemple du débat de la compensation salariale : ces jours-ci Lutchmeenaraidoo et Bérenger font monter les enchères sur la question du paiement d?une compensation intégrale à tous les travailleurs. C?est facile, ils sont dans l?opposition, ils n?ont pas à trouver l?argent. Mais s?il avait été au gouvernement Bérenger n?aurait même pas participé aux réunions tripartites, face à ces syndicalistes ?démagogues? qui ne comprennent rien aux réalités économiques. C?est en tout cas ce qu?il pensait.?

<I>«Does the university of Mauritius possess such intellectuals on its campus? What is even more worrying is now that the university is restructuring itself, and various other institutions of higher learning are mushrooming up to respond to the needs of the economy, the other noble functions of the university may be quickly forgotten.»</I>

What is most important at this juncture is certainly not the ?démagogie? of one party or the other but rather a genuine concerted effort to protect both jobs and the workers. Without the security of a job in this era of globalisation, people?s livelihoods are threatened. It shocks me to hear some of our leaders often refer to the fact that ?they want to protect the worker and not the jobs?.

A question which therefore surfaces is how de we distinguish between the two? If jobs are not preserved and protected, the worker loses his or her job. She or he will then have to face the various vulnerabilities and risks associated with joblessness. Is it not the responsibility of the state to protect both the job and the worker in these very challenging and globalising times. Globalisation is often posited as the major culprit ? it?s as if we have fallen in a trap and there is not much we can do except asking workers to make more and more sacrifices whilst the privileged few carry on flaunting their wealth and exhibiting diverse forms of arrogance, thus frustrating and alienating workers even further. Disaffection and alienation can easily turn into severe discontent. The expression of such discontent can take multiple forms- mass revolt, social uprisings as well as violence against the self in certain circumstances, as testified by the suicides of the cotton farmers in India recently.

Globalisation has existed since time immemorial but in recent years it has become a buzz word meaning different things to different people. To the sceptics, it means job loss, sweat shops, child labour, limited national sovereignty, environmental destruction, economic exploitation, increased poverty, cultural domination and more. Castells and Henderson actually believe that developing countries will actually be worse off within a highly competitive global economy. Stiglitz expresses fears and concerns that globalisation may lead to the disruption of the social fabric and further marginalisation of whole regions.

The optimists view globalisation in a different light. To many of them, globalisation means unlimited economic opportunities, economic growth, higher incomes, and improvement in labour and environmental standards. Many people in the world of IT also believe that ?the current trends are beneficial to the developing world, offering opportunities for economic growth.?

Whether we fall in the category of the sceptics or the optimists is not so much of the issue here since what is required is more of an egalitarian kind of globalisation and for that to happen we badly and urgently need a pedagogy of the non oppressed. One may be tempted to ask who are the non oppressed and a simple straightforward answer may be those who hold diverse forms of power, knowledge, wealth, status and who can easily manipulate and propagate information which can serve their best interests at the expense of the ordinary worker.

Growth, education and joblessness

On the occasion of ?La journée du Livre?, the prime minister reiterated the importance of reading and of education to get people out of exclusion and poverty. Whilst it is true that education has the potential to equip people for a better life and confront the multiple vagaries of globalisation, we know far too well how our schools continue to fail large sections of Mauritian children at the age of 10 plus. The high failure rates and even those who are made to pass with borderline marks (since there is some sort of compulsion to improve the pass rates) may never be able to find a decent job, let alone obtain the fruits of upward mobility Many of the children who fail the CPE are full of energy, are intelligent and have multiple talents but the ?reforms? of the education system have still not been able to address the fundamentals associated with this waste. Will the much brandished concept of ?world class and quality education? help to salvage our little ones and turn them into potential workers for the labour market of tomorrow. The answer is NO. Instead the children will be without jobs. They would lead a rather dehumanising life and may be subject to various dislocations and displacements to make room for new foreign investors which often represent new forms of imperialism.

No job means no dignity. For how long will the state continue to produce workers who do not have the knowledge to be part of the called knowledge economy. How much longer will it take to make science and technology to become compulsory up to at least from five in our secondary schools. The mismatch between the labour market and the schooling/training system is not new but it has become very urgent address it in a significant manner. Shouldn?t such contradictions be at the heart of the labour day debates instead of all the populist pandering that takes place.

A knowledge society

Knowledge ? whether to promote economic growth, safeguard biodiversity or control diseases or find ways and means to understand and manage our social and cultural diversity more effectively ? is becoming increasingly important. The way in which it is amassed, combined and communicated is crucial. The process of accumulating and using knowledge is complex and uncertain and the progression from scientific research to practical application is rarely simple. Rather most technological and social advances result from interwoven trends and a greater use of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity but unfortunately Knowledge is often packaged to merely answer exam questions and obtain marks? Thinking, critical analysis are foreign to our education system. Private tuition teachers provide model answers; many students at the university admit that they have never read a book which have marked them in any manner whatsoever ? how can we then expect anything to be questioned, interpreted and interrogated. How can we then expect our workers to become innovative and creative overnight?

The university we are told is in some sort of crisis, how much reflection and public debate has this crisis elicited? The role of intellectuals, according to Noah Chomsky and Edward Said is to challenge conventional wisdom, to interrogate systems which are oppressive, to engage with issues and take the debate forward and to make a contribution to society with a view to transform it effectively, to help promote values such as equity and social justice, in short to make a difference to the human condition. Does the university of Mauritius possess such intellectuals on its campus? What is even more worrying is now that the university is restructuring itself, and various other institutions of higher learning are mushrooming up to respond to the needs of the economy, the other noble functions of the university may be quickly forgotten.

Issues of quality, access and relevance remain pertinent to the higher education debate but the role of the university in developing a revolutionary consciousness and a relevant kind of praxis should not be ignored.

In his ?pedagogy of the oppressed? Paulo Freire tells us that: ?It is only when the oppressed finds the oppressor out and become involved in the organised struggle for their liberation that they begin to believe in themselves. This discovery cannot be purely intellectual but must involve action; nor can it be limited to mere activism, but must include serious reflection: only then will it be a praxis.?

Serious reflection and relevant praxis can only take place if intellectuals are not treated as post secondary school teachers .The intellectuals need to appropriate their space and take their responsibility in their own hands.

Worker?s day- a tool for political mobilisation rather than a tool to celebrate the workers of Mauritius

Like the intelligentsia, many of our politicians have stopped understanding the meaning of politics and the importance of serving the nation effectively. The way that workers? day is celebrated in Mauritius and the way that politics is engaged with highlight the need for a new political culture. The debate on electoral reforms, and the need for a ?troisième force? are essential and urgent prerequisites for the deepening of Mauritian democracy. Shouldn?t workers have their say in these processes? The reengineering of state society relations requires the participation of each and all but what space is there to encourage such participation? We know too well how transport is organized to bus the people to the different meeting points on Labour Day and for what purpose?

The need for a pedagogy of the non oppressed

Paulo Freire also notes ?Within their authentic view of the world and of themselves, the oppressed feel like ?things? owned by the oppressor. For the latter to be is to have, almost always at the expense of those who have nothing. For the oppressed, at a certain point in their existential experience, to be is not to resemble the oppressor, but to be under him, to depend on him...?

It is time that each and every Mauritian takes stock of the difficulties, change his or her patterns of consumption so that we can grapple with globalization and turn it intone which is oriented towards a more egalitarian redistribution. The rhetoric of globalisation with a human face will not be enough unless there is genuine redistribution. For this to happen each Mauritian worker from the big chief executive director to the prime minister and the president should be prepared and willing to accept less and stop vying for more resources for themselves, in short stop enriching themselves at the expense of others. Many mechanisms exist to tax the wealthy and ensure more equity but it is not simply a matter of more taxes , it is also a question of self restraint and modesty. It is an insult to the poor worker to find his or her fellow citizen drive by in the big limousines, Mercedes and BMW when they are out there trekking miles in the hot sun for some form of public transport on the ever increasing congested and polluted roads of the island. It is an insult to the workers of the country to find big integrated resort schemes being developed and absorbing their sons and daughters only at the lowest level of the echelon. Such growing inequality will put the security of each citizen including the big bosses at risk. The immorality of opulence and plenty in the midst of poverty goes without saying.

I am not suggesting that the prime minister should be getting on a ?charrette? to go to his office but I am suggesting that there is a rethink of how taxpayers? money are spent when it comes to the big bosses? per diems, cars, fringe benefits etc.

The pedagogy of the non oppressed should not be restricted to state actors but the corporate world as well. Mahatma Gandhi once said: ?There are enough resources in the world to satisfy the needs of each and all but there are not enough resources to satisfy the greed of a few.?

Globalisation brings many challenges in its wake, the most important of which is a judicious use of resources especially if we truly want to protect workers? interests and make of Mauritius a zone of conviviality rather than a cauldron of hate and insecurity.

by Sheila BUNWAREE