The education of children of Indian immigrants in Mauritius became one of the main priorities of the British government in the 1850s. The instruction of the Secretary of State, Lord Grey, to Sir William Gomm, Governor of Mauritius was that the immigrants were not to be kept in a state of ignorance and that the local government was to cater for their moral and social improvement. Yet, no action was taken until the arrival of Sir James Macaulay Higginson.

The new Governor had to cope with a worsening social climate as the influx of Indian immigrants became more pronounced. Higginson armed with his experience of India believed that the social problem could best be tackled by means of education. He was unlike Sir Henry Barkly who in his true military style chose the hard way by clamping down the repressive Labour Law of 1867. In the Council of Government in 1857, Governor Higginson harped on the value of education stating that it was the ?best prevention of crime and the surest guarantee of social order.? But the scheme to which Higginson devoted almost his entire governorship crumbled like a house of cards when the time came for putting it in actual operation. What were the causes of this collapse?

After the failure of the Savanne experimental Indian school, Higginson revived the project anew in the Council in 1854. This time, he circulated a minute outlining his project in more details. An elementary school solely for Indian children was to be established in Port Louis. The medium of communication was to be the English and Tamil languages. If this experiment proved successful, more such schools were to be opened in the rural districts. The presence in the island of Rev Hardy, a ?Missionary of great experience from South India? and who was well versed in the Tamil language, afforded a good opportunity to float the scheme. Higginson?s plan also consisted of the setting up of a ?Normal School? for the training of teachers.

The minute was referred to a ?Special Education Committee? of the Council of Government for comments. The report of the ?Special Committee? came up after a year. The proposal of Sir James for separate schools for Indian and Creole children was not recommended. It was argued that separation of Indian and Creole children would ?tend to foster the exclusive habits of the former and perpetuate divisions between the races and prevent the fusion of the immigrant population into the mass of inhabitants?.

The notion of national unity or the ?one nation theory? in Mauritius, seems to find expression for the first time in the report of this elitist committee. But then, that committee also looked at the unifying factor from an economic angle. It hoped in the process of cutting down racial barriers to bring about a ?resident agricultural population that would render Mauritius independent of immigration, with its accompanying difficulties and expenses?.

But the committee agreed with the proposals of the Governor that elementary education was to be rendered compulsory and sugar estates? owners were to be compelled to assist in providing accommodations to house the schools and defray the expenses related to teachers? salaries. It was felt that the estates? owners had a moral obligation to assist in providing facilities for the education of young Indians whose parents were recruited as labourers.

In the debates in the Council of Government, Sir James Higginson, however, disagreed with the views expressed by the committee that French was to be used as the medium of instruction. This issue was left to Mr Henry Labouchere, the Colonial Secretary, to sort out. Labouchere concluded that the appropriate medium was the French language, -? spoken by the great majority of the tax-paying classes of the colony.? Yet, English was not to be neglected and was to be taught as a second language.

Higginson desisted from further opposition. Labouchere?s recommendation was taken on board and after three years of debates, the Council of Government passed Ordinance No 21 of 1857 making education compulsory for boys between the ages of six and twelve and girls between the ages of six and ten. The school fee for each child was 6 pence per month. By imposing a school fee, Higginson said he wanted parents to appreciate the value of education. Classes were to be conducted for three hours a day. Parents keeping children from schools were liable to a fine or imprisonment if absences were recurrent for a child.

?Danger? looming ahead

After piloting the scheme in the Council, Higginson thought he could heave a sigh of relief and his project could see the light of the day. He was mistaken. A set of fresh difficulties cropped up. The Catholic Bishop of Port Louis, Allen Collier who had seen nothing wrong with the scheme earlier started raising his voice. His problem had to do mainly with the inclusion of a clause on religious teaching in the ordinance. Then followed a petition addressed to the Secretary of State signed by the ?proprietors and planters? who stated that though they were not against compulsory education for the Indian children, nevertheless saw a ?danger? looming ahead and to which the Catholic population was exposed at. The cause of fear : a gradual proselytism of the Mauritian society with the Anglican priests wielding greater influence in Mauritius. That fear took shape when the Governor gave a free hand to Rev Hardy to conduct at his will religious instruction in government schools. It was no secret that Governor Higginson was influenced by Rev Chapman, the Protestant Bishop of Colombo, who during his visit to Mauritius in 1850 had expressed the wish to see the number of Protestant clergy increased so that they could organize the instruction of the children of immigrants and the emancipated creoles. It was also known that the Protestant Bishop of Mauritius, Vincent Ryan, had a hand in the writing of the Higginson?s minute. Protestants? influence was therefore viewed as rising more than ever.

The Catholic community now vehemently opposed the scheme if the clause relating to religious instruction was not removed. Estates? owners, some of whom had taken laudable initiatives in setting up schools on their estates, gave up all interest when the bitterness between the Protestants and Catholics flared up. By stirring up this controversy, one could wonder whether Bishop Collier had not ambushed Higginson into promoting his Indian education scheme and later having it scuttled at the time of operation?

Anyway, Higginson was left a disappointed man. The local press, in particular, Le Cernéen, in its issue of 14 September 1857 bitterly opposed the introduction of compulsory education. In an article captioned, ?Protestation contre la loi sur l?éducation obligatoire,? the paper criticized the Governor?s administration of Mauritius, not only for his education scheme but also for his comments that the cholera epidemic which broke out in Mauritius in 1854 was not introduced from India but originated in Mauritius itself because of the island?s insalubrious state. Higginson?s departure from Mauritius in 1857 at the end of his governorship was greeted with much relief by the press. News of the Indian Mutiny described by Indian Historians as the First War of Indian independence having reached Mauritius in August 1857, the local press attributed the revolt to religious interferences committed by the British and commented that Higginson?s departure was salutary in that it saved Mauritius from violence of a scale witnessed in India.

The next cog in the wheel was the opposition of the Court of Directors of the East India Company to the French language as the medium of instruction. After a stony silence, they seemed to have woken up and began insisting that English and Indian vernaculars should be the main languages. They said vernacular languages had proved more successful in India in promoting education than a foreign language. They supported Higginson?s compulsory education scheme and left the Colonial office in London confused. Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for India and Lord Carnarvon, Secretary of State for the colonies both backed up Indian education in Mauritius but differed on what was to be the vehicular language. Stanley was in favour of Indian vernaculars, Carnarvon wanted English. The differences of opinion created another issue but Lord Carnarvon conceded to Stanley.

?A mat for the children, a cushion for the teacher?

Finally, those who were to be directly concerned with education, that is, the Immigrants showed little or no inclination to send their children to schools. Fear was driven in them that their children would be required to change their religion. Another reason for not sending children to schools was that they were made to work in order to procure money. Parents perceived a money loss when sending their children to schools. The motivation of parents was slow in coming as the census of 1871 shows that out of 39,112 Indian children between the ages of 5 and 14, only 829 attended schools. Furthermore, the annual report of Walter Henry Ashley, the Superintendent of Government schools in 1875 gives the percentage of Indian children attending schools as 23% against 77% of the General population.

Higginson?s Ordinance No 21 of 1857 concerning the establishment of Indian schools was never put in operation. The education of Indian children was again taken with greater interest by Sir Arthur Purves Phayre (1874-1878) who took precautions not to hurt the sensibilities of the Indian population. He drove off the Indian education scheme on a different path; the schools were to be like those found in Indian villages ?with a mat for the children and a cushion for the teacher.? Phayre adopted a softer approach, eliminating obligation of school attendance, re-instating Indian tongues as the medium of instruction and recruiting teachers from India where they were plentiful ?as blackberries.?

Though recognizably more successful during Governor Phayre?s administration because of the flexibilities of the scheme, the Indian schools were closed down by Nicolas Beyts, the acting Colonial Secretary, when Phayre left Mauritius. The reason given was that that ?Indian languages are of little advantage here.?