New Lower Six admission criteria scare private colleges

Managers of private colleges express concerns that the new admission criteria into Lower Six, announced by the Ministry of Education, will lead to the closing down of their establishments. They met on Wednesday to discuss matters at the Mauritius College in Curepipe. 

The President of the Federation of Managers of Private Colleges, Bashir Taleb, stated: “We do things to them. We don’t do things with them anymore.” He said that they are no longer admitted to the board of directors of the Private Secondary Education Authority (PSEA). Hence there is no longer any line of communication between them and Minister Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun. 

The managers questioned the decision of the Minister regarding the five credits required from students to be admitted to Lower Six. “This decision of five credits is of national importance and concerns all students, parents and colleges. How can such a decision be taken without consultation? It is dictatorship! Why were we side-lined all this time? Everything indicates that we are moving towards the disappearance of private colleges, and the nationalization of secondary education in Mauritius.” 

Spokesperson of the federation Harris Bachwa stated that the Minister, who claims to promote effort and encourage teachers to better supervise students, has not seen the need to inquire about the real situation in colleges. “What efforts should our teachers provide to supervise a student with 4 E in sixth grade and bring it to 5 credits in five years of schooling? Considering that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 pupils with fewer than 5 credits, each year, more than 50% of the student population in Mauritius will be penalized. The new measure will inevitably lead to social issues,” he claimed.

The following propositions have been made by the private colleges:

• A return to 4 credits for the majority of students
• 3 credits in exceptional cases where the pupil chose three main subjects
• Another option for those with 3 credits: a formula of two main subjects and two subsidiary subjects

Minister of Education: “Private colleges will not close their doors”

The Minister of Education Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun reassured private college managers that their establishments will not close their doors despite the revision of the criteria for admission in Lower Six. She said private colleges are key partners of the government and have contributed to the advancement of the education sector. “Other countries have maintained the formula of five credits. We are just telling the Form 3 students of this year to work hard to have a good base for the HSC. If they do not have these bases during the first year, they can resit the SC exams. In addition, we will revolutionize technical education. Our goal is to prepare young people so that they can contribute to the development of the country,” she stated.