I will attempt to highlight the striking features of some educational systems which have particularly impressed me-for example those of Singapore, Finland, England and France,the US, Hungary, Japan, private and denominational education in India and Africa, the cross-country system of International schools etc.

These subjective views are of course open to criticism, if not downright correction, particularly from those experts from within these countries themselves. Their value to the Mauritian public , at a time of continued reform of our educational system, may lie in conclusions such as “this is what we need here” or “sa nou palé”.A word of caution:in-depth evaluation of any given feature is essential before importing it to fit carefully identified local needs.

Ex-PM Lee Kwan Yew once described his vision for Singapore as “A first world oasis in a third world region.” In the late 1980’s, I personally heard his 2-hour speech on TV and radio where he called for major re-orientation of Singapore’s economy: from ship-building and the like to financial services, advanced technological industries, becoming a tourism-hub etc. His guidelines, based on the best available advice and personal vision, proved, with hindsight, to have been deadly accurate. Every sector followed, including education , which was re-engineered to serve these new demands.

Education is at the heart of Singapore’s progress ; the schools are impressive places; many are new and all are well-equipped and well-staffed. If I were to select 6 strengths in Singaporean education it would be these:

● Information and communication technology at all levels, both as a tool in the teaching/learning process and as an instrument for modern living; for example, in this “Intelligent Island” there is ADSL/ broadband connection to every household and two billion Singapore dollars (Rs 4 billion) have been recently earmarked for the development of ICT in its 400 schools.

● Science education, with the combined aim of “science for understanding” and “science applied to wealth creation”. Schools and colleges have very well equipped science laboratories, with an interesting mix of advanced science equipment and simple low-cost apparatus which students makes for themselves, experiment with, hence “learn by doing”( an approach which I have personally promoted, often with UNESCO)

● Mathematics, as a basis for both economic and scientific advance. Singaporean students regularly come first in international tests of Maths and Science.

● Singapore schools present an interesting mix of formality and high technology. The students are well dressed in uniform and very polite, but with a high level of enthusiasm and a strong desire “to do things well”. This makes for easy teaching! However the life of a teacher is very hard and demanding, with preparation, lesson notes and feed-back required for EVERY lesson!

● Citizenship, putting the country first, putting hard work and achieving success before leisure and farniente. As a visiting lecturer to NUS(the National University of Singapore) some years ago, I found this spirit well reflected by a slogan (scrupulously respected by all) in the buffet-dining room which said “Take all you want, but eat all you take”. The last grain of rice on every plate was eaten, almost as a matter of national pride! Reflect this attitude into all other walks of life and watch the results!

● Accountability: Singapore developed a policy of making schools accountable for achievement, both to the authorities and to the community, through well-defined Educational Indicators, which are constantly reviewed.

As countries learn from each other-always a two-way process-Mauritius has a lot to gain from a close analysis of the Singaporean model, in education and elsewhere.

<B>Dr. Michael ATCHIA

[email protected]

http://www.michael-atchia.info</B>