Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Education reform: An additional failure

As little bits and pieces of information concerning the implementation of the educational reform gradually find their way in the public domain, we feel that there are reasons to be concerned. The latest is the article in Le Mauricien by Rajendra Sewpersadsing setting the alarm bells on the Extended Programme students whom he considers to be “failures in the waiting.”
“What about our EP students? They will practically ALL come out, after TEN years of compulsory education as TOTAL FAILURE without any attestation. There is more than one year before the EP students sit for the NCE exams. There is still time to reconsider the whole issue. ….The EP students deserve a better education to safeguard their future in particular and the Mauritian society at large. “
This shows that the one-size-fits-all approach to education reform reform is turning out to be mere cosmetic touches without profound changes in either curriculum or teaching methodologies that are adaptable to the different learning abilities of students. On the “Extended Stream” system, there are enough of indications that we are heading towards a dead end. A rethink is necessary on the challenges of combining a specialised academic programme with providing adequate vocational training or else we will be banging our head against a brick wall: after four years of mainstream education forced upon unwilling students, we will be faced with another batch of student failures and frustration.
The way that the authorities are going about the reform at their own pace and in a piecemeal manner makes us doubt whether our reformers are prepared for an overhaul the whole education system.
More than the need for affirmative action, this should be the priority -huge investment in human resources and addressing the inefficiencies and widespread inequities in learning opportunities and outcomes in the primary and secondary levels via a more cooperative education approach that raises the average from the bottom rungs such that it brings about a profound effect on the overall result. It is indeed a formidable challenge.



Prakash Neerohoo, Rashmee Daby and 4 others
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