More and more foreign students come here for their teriary education. Full-time students as well as those who follow one semester only come to Mauritius from various countries across the world - even from America and Europe. School leavers from neighboring countries such as India, Seychelles and Kenya are also attracted to our country. But why do they choose Mauritius?

The University of Mauritius as the lead tertiary education institution attracts more of these international students for different reasons. Varun Longani who comes from India, is currently doing his BSC management at the UoM as a second year student. He thinks the university has already built its reputation abroad and admits this is one of the main reasons that made him opt for The UOM. He says: ?I chose UOM as it is very well appreciated in the African region for the courses it provides in the management field. Also, the faculty of management has some of the best professors in the island.?

For Veena Balgobin, lecturer in Languages and Cultures at the UOM, more structures should be provided for foreign students. ?I tend to see more and more foreigners on the campus nowadays. When I talk to them. I notice that some of them do have problems integrating here. Many say that we Mauritians have adopted too much of the European culture as we all say that we are busy working. There is a reduction in human contact.?

International students also choose the regional tertiary educational institutions such as the Institut de la Francophonie pour l?Entreprenariat (IFE), the Mauras College of Dentistry School and the SSR Medical College. Indeed, over there, about half of the students are of Indian origin. For most of them, one of the main reasons why they decided to come and study in Mauritius is to escape the competition in their country. But despite being the nationality in majority at SSR, Indian is far from being the only foreign nationality, as there are also students from South Africa, Malaysia and other countries.

Among the private institutions Charles Telfair attracts a number of foreign students. For Rosy, who is currently doing a BCom there, circumstances are rather the motive for her being here, rather than studying. But unlike Rosy, Rachelle Niomoza who is from Burundi chose Mauritius and Charles Telfair because of its bilingual aspect and as it is not very far from her native country. However, neither of them have any doubt regarding the reorganisation of their future qualifications as they both look forward to careers abroad.

One must not forget that there are also some international students enrolled through The Mauritius College of the Air for distance education programs offered by MCA?s partner, IGNOU. These students benefit from the administrative facilities offered by the institution for enrolment and examination.

Attracting more international students could help in the building up of Mauritius as a knowledge hub.

DEVENDRA PARSAD RUHEE, FORMER CEO AT THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

<B> ?We must make sure foreign students get assistance here? </B>

● <B> When did foreign students start coming to Mauritius? </B>

I personally believe the opening of the University of Technology of Mauritius (UTM) in 2000 and later on institutions as DCDM favoured a wider choice of subjects being offered. Hence, encouraging a wider variety of students from different parts of the world. But if we go even further back in the past, it was also due to many bilateral agreements between Mauritius and other countries ? mainly African ones. In fact, when showed that sugar cane could grow easily here in Mauritius, foreign students, especially from Africa and in the scientific field, started coming to Mauritius. Moreover, the University of Mauritius has always kept the reputation of being a university with high standards. So, it has built a successful reputation.

● <B> What about the private institutions? </B>

You first need to know that if a private institution opens here and 95% of its students in the scientific field are foreigners, the TEC ? the regulatory institution ? will not accept its opening. A limit is broadly defined in scarcity areas. Priority is given to Mauritians as we all know that the country needs skills.

● <B> How could we provide more facilities to benefit those foreign students? </B>

We have to ensure that they get assistance needed when they come here, for example in terms of accommodation. We should make sure that they have a decent campus. They should be guided to integrate themselves more easily in the Mauritian social context. I remember when I was studying in Canada, there was a special counselor provided for foreign students in order to make them adapt more easily. The same thing should be done here!