Higher Education Bill adopted at the National Assembly

During the parliamentary session of Tuesday, the Higher Education Bill was adopted. The Higher Education Bill is in line with Government’s Vision 2030 to transform Mauritius as an education hub. The Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, stated that our higher education sector has to be modernised, it has to be revamped and, above all, it has to be more responsive to the emerging needs of the country.

Minister Leela Dookun-Luchoomun said that Higher education is one domain where dissemination of knowledge goes hand in hand with the creation of new knowledge, and that research is the part of the core business of higher education institutions, and the international perspective demonstrates the change in nature of research.

The Higher Education Bill provides for the creation of three new bodies along with the repeal of the Tertiary Education Commission Act. The aim is to ensure the reorientation of the system towards the main policy goals and areas bearing in mind the intention to position Mauritius as a favoured destination for higher education in the region. The Bill proposes the creation of three entities with very well-defined and distinct roles:

• A Higher Education Advisory Council to advise Government on policies for the effective direction, promotion and development of higher education in Mauritius;

• A Higher Education Commission to monitor the performance of public higher education institutions, including measuring their performance against specified outcomes; and

• A Quality Assurance Authority with the power to do regular quality audits in any tertiary institution operating in Mauritius.