Gilbert Ducasse of “Linion Sitwayen” on our education system.

Some time back when I was contributing to MTmes, I used to pick up some of the worthy statements/ opinions of some of our opinion leaders and shapers from different newspapers and comment on them. I wish thus to share with you some chosen bits of Gilbert Ducasse’s interview in today’s l’express.

Question: Porquoi avoir choisi Linion Sitwayen ?

Ans: ......« J’ai aussi, en parallèle, mené un combat pour éradiquer la pauvreté. La meilleure façon de le faire, c’est à travers l’éducation. Il est temps de stopper ce système. Les enfants vont à l’école pour être en compétition avec les autres. C’est comme ça qu’ils sont conditionnés. A être le premier dans tout ce qu’il fait, être en compétition constante. Rien de bon ne sortira de ce système. Suivant l’évolution, dans vingt ans, Maurice se tournera de plus en plus vers l’informatique. Donc, les enfants qui vont à l’école apprennent au maximum l’informatique. Pourquoi? Pour travailler « derrier computer dan call centre». Ma responsabilité c’est de travailler avec ceux qui pensent comme moi sur la plateforme. ».

This is an issue that i have at heart ; I recall that in 2008, i had replied to a friend that " c’est system là ki pas bon; nou systèm lédikation li trop compétitif et li pé amènn bann comportment indigne dan enn sociéte moderne ; c’ést la faute à sa system lédikation ki fer reussite vinne trop important ; enn systèm egoiste et parents aussi en tort ; ena beaucoup parents envi zot zenfan fer plus sport mais zot esclav system là, bizin prend 5 à 6 leçons ; Alors, kamarad ; commence par blâme nu même, nou qui finne vot contre la réforme de lédikation , contre la regionalisation ; nou ki fin accepté star schools et star Profs ; Ki san là ki pé supporte sa ban commercants lédikasion là. !!! "

Now we are in 2020, Education has travelled a long way since and there are powerful dynamics that are reshaping the education system to expand skills and broaden horizons especially the fundamental changes in the approach to education with more emphasis on teaching people to think creatively and critically responding to the imperatives of a new economy. Equally significant are the life-long learning possibilities that will allow a succession of re-trainings and further training to equip people with the multi-skilled flexibility for the rising requirements and periodic changes that will be the characteristic of work in the coming decades.

Here, our education system is in a complete mess. And what a fine mess, the educational reform is making of it!!! Our Education Reform has turned out to be a sham !

But BEWARE !!! If we go by what the Minister of Education is implementing, we may be vitiating the whole concept of the education of the future. The school of the future enables us to move to a new learning environment for our children. Unquestionably, it will foster more of intimate, self-directed learning and collaborative spaces and a shift away from exam-centric objectives and will enable more diverse curriculums that focus on the development of real-world skills and involve whole community participation. It will also drive more of independent thinking, moving away from the teacher-led model and will allow the student to take a larger role in guiding his learning.

Moreover, given that some one third of our primary school cohorts fails to complete with success -resulting in the lack of access to higher levels and the internal inefficiency of the system- more efforts in the reform should be ensuring that equity drivies quality improvement not the other way round. Raising the average for the bottom rungs would have a profound effect on the overall result but here we are still bothered about competition and focus mainly on scores of the few at the very top and we are still not conscious of the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of our education system.

The authorities do not seem to be aware of these developments that have not been taken on board in our education reform. The way that the authorities are going about the reform at their own pace and in a piecemeal manner, incoherent bits and pieces, makes us doubt whether our reformers are prepared for such needed changes to overhaul the whole education system. This demands huge investment in human resources. It is indeed a formidable challenge. We doubt whether they are getting ready for the future when they don’t seem to see the future coming to them.

Yes , Mr Gilbert Ducasse is right; “Rien de bon ne sortira de ce système.” -especially in terms of a meaningful imapct on poverty !

Indeed, there are now unique possibilities for developing new models of learning, ground-breaking programs that emphasize interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking skills and individualized learning plans. It will be a new learning environment where the learners can set their own goals, build knowledge collaboratively and create their own content and questions. It makes different kinds of learning processes possible. This is what the Ministry of Education should be aiming at, not the hotch-potch concoction for the traditional retrograde, teacher-centric, archaic model that it wants to implement.

5Prakash Neerohoo, Rashmee Daby and 3 others

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