Towards a More Inclusive and Equitable Approach 

Recruiting 100,000 students by 2020 is one of the main aims for turning our knowledge centres in the pursuit of excellence. The Budget 2018-2019 emphasized on a more inclusive and equitable quality education through the implementation of several measures at the secondary, Technical and Vocational Education Training and tertiary education levels. A sum of Rs 17.2 billion has been earmarked for the expeditious implementation of educational changes and transformations and for bringing significant improvement in the education infrastructure.  

The Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Pravind Jugnauth, announced that the Government’s aim is to transform Mauritius into an Education Hub for the region and beyond. He underscored that Mauritius is aiming to triple its enrolment of international students in the years to come and an aggressive marketing strategy to enhance the visibility of the sector will help to achieve this objective.

Institutions 

As at now, there are ten-publicly-funded institutions operating in Mauritius, which include the University of Mauritius (UoM), University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM), Open University of Mauritius (OU), Université des Mascareignes (UdM), the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI), Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI), Fashion and Design Institute (FDI), Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD) and Mauritius Institute of Health (MIH).

On top, there are 54 private institutions registered locally; of these, 37 are fully operational. These institutions provide tertiary education in diverse fields and at different levels, ranging from Certificate to PhD at DBA, with the awarding bodies generally based overseas. A total of 71 overseas awarding bodies were present locally. These awarding bodies were from the following countries: United Kingdom (43), France/Reunion (9), South Africa (8), India (1), Australia (3), Malaysia (3), Europe (1), New Zealand (1), United States of America (1) and Pakistan (1).

Postgraduate scholarships in Blockchain and Digital Technology

Recently, the Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookhun, announced that a total of 50 postgraduate scholarships in Digital Technology, Blockchain, and Big Data will be offered this year. As from August 2019, the Université des Mascareignes will offer Master’s degrees in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain. These measures aim to encourage young people to develop high end technical skills and to be more competent and versatile in today’s highly technological world. According to the Minister, this measure will complete the human capital cycle adding that Government, out of concern for equity and fairness, is investing fully in its human resources through the provision of free education and technical training. 

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) 

Along with tertiary education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training is also laid on. The main aim of TVET is to address the need for skilled manpower in both existing and emerging economic sectors. Moreover, the TVET sector is regulated by the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA), which also develops and maintains the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). 

The main provider of the TVET program is the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD). The MITD offers a series of technical programs. The MITD also currently provides courses at the level of National Diploma. Apart from MITD, there are about 350 private training institutions, registered with the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA), which offer training, mainly in management and information technology. 

Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd (PML) is a body corporate established under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research. PML has three campuses spread out over the country: Reduit, nestled close to the CyberCity is home to the ICT and Emerging Technology cluster; Montagne Blanche focuses on the Tourism and Hospitality as well as Cruise Management sector and Pamplemousses, situated in the Medical Hub next to the Cardiac Unit and SSRN Hospital, harbours the Health Sciences, Nursing and Paramedics cluster.

Some popular trades and courses offered in Mauritius are: Carpentry, Electrician, Welding works, Aluminium openings assembly, Automotive repairs, Plumbing, Painting, Beauty care, Agro industry, Handicraft, Textiles, Jewelry, Building construction, Computer repairs and Printing.