Universal College: Celebrating 55 years of commitment and excellence

Founded in 1961 by late Rohit Bolakee, Universal College, Rivière du Rempart pulls 55 this year. The college has, throughout the years, become a leading institution in the holistic development of children living in northern rural areas. Today the college takes pride to showcase its achievements.

55 years of service, commitment and excellence in education. This is how we can describe Universal College’s journey into becoming a leading institution in the secondary education sector in Mauritius. The long educational distance travelled by the institution speaks volumes of the college’s achievements in providing high quality education and equipping students with lifelong skills and values to enable them to become total quality citizens. 

Key player in the education and development of children, the institution has indeed, since its inception, endeavoured to provide a holistic education geared to essentially igniting minds and enkindling hearts in a bid to make every student a burning flame kindling other fires – fires of knowledge and wisdom, of compassion and commitment, of skill and service and after all, of human excellence. Its wide curriculum caters for an education that provides several windows of opportunities for employability to its student population of around 1,500. The college takes pride in saying that it has produced an intelligentsia playing key roles in different sectors of the Mauritian economy.

To mark its emerald jubilee, the college kicked off celebrations since June last year with the establishment by the school of the “Rivière du Rempart Community Endemic garden” in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment. “Our target was “55 Years 55 Activities” and this target has, proudly enough, been attained.  As a matter of fact, a whole gamut of activities, ranging from literary, sports to voluntary social work as well as philanthropic activities, were organized to celebrate the 55 years of existence with pomp,” explains the Rector, Mrs H Bolakee Bhowon.

After materialization of the Community Endemic Garden project at the Rivière du Rempart promenade, the school, through its Interact Club, an affiliate of the Rotary Club of Haute Rive, embarked in a laudable initiative of organising a series of voluntary social and philanthropic activities at Pointe des Lascars. Empowerment sessions were organized with the help of several institutions including inter alia, the Brigade des Mineurs Team, the District Council North for the cleaning of the village, the Food & Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (FAREI), amongst others. A press conference was held in December 2015 to highlight the 2016 activities comprising mainly Inter-Primary & Inter- College Literary & Sports Competitions.

On the occasion of the 55th Anniversary of the school, the management also rewarded the community surrounding it.  In this context, the chairman of the Senior Citizens Council and the Brigade des Mineurs were awarded shields. “Members of the Senior Citizens Council are ever ready to call at school whenever they are needed to inculcate certain values to the students and promote the inter-generational blend. On the other hand, the Brigade des Mineurs team is permanently present to cater for the school in its bid to sustain discipline,” shares the Rector.

A Prize Giving Ceremony was held on Wednesday 15 September. Students from all forms were rewarded for their hard work and excellent results in the various fields of study. Some of the Inter-Primary and Inter-College activities organized were: Inter-Primary concours d’epellation, Inter-College Essay Writing Competition, Debate, Quiz, Selling-Bee, Poetry Competition, Brain trust and so on and so forth. On Thursday 16 September, the college proceeded to the commemoration of ‘Founder’s Day’ marking the birth anniversary of the founder. The chief guest marking the closing ceremony was the Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookhun-Luchoomun. Other eminent personalities and dignitaries also attended the grand event which also included the conferment ceremony of the ‘Rohit Bolakee Award 2016’ to Chit Dukhira, former town clerk and currently social science writer. The Minister of Education also proceeded to the launch and opening of a brand new Physics Laboratory for the teaching of this subject in the upper forms.

Mrs. H Bolakee Bhowon, Rector of Universal College: Her feelings on the college’s achievements

“Reminiscing the gone by years takes me to recognize how this institution has travelled through the awry path of time to stand where it is today.  In a way, I can say that Universal College is an institution which is famous for always taking the road less travelled.  While giving pure academics the due importance it deserves, Universal College has always endeavoured to go the extra mile in a bid to provide students with that “Little something which makes this school unique in its own sense.  Today I feel very much elated at the thought that the founder’s vision & mission of an enlightened Rivière Du Rempart has been materialized. The founder, Late Rohit Bolakee, was my father & I, his unique child.  So, what remains for me is to carry on with his mission and bring the institution to still greater heights.” She adds, “this is what we are endeavoring to do.  We have only today, proceeded with the official opening of a brand new Physics Laboratory for the teaching of the subject in the upper forms.  I’ld also like to share that we are, by nature, ambitious and this ambitious endeavour will, in the very near future, bring us to open new horizons for our students.  We are now envisaging to provide a language laboratory, a Marine Science museum and better technology facilities….”