Abstract
The chapter reviews the higher education context of Mauritius that has embraced the widening discourses of reasserting its identities as providers of higher education (HE) regionally. Specifically, this chapter highlights how international policy narratives around the development of “knowledge hubs” have shaped this HE space. Divergent public and private education providers have variously interpreted and enacted the conception of these emerging spatial opportunities.
The chapter is organized into three parts
The first part introduces the broader context of the Republic of Mauritius and its links to South Asia
This is followed by a descriptive overview of the national higher education landscape (firstly, outlining the institutional types, courses offered, and enrolment rates and, thereafter, foregrounding the funding and quality assurance systems).
The last part discusses the shifting historical policy directives, priorities, and challenges, influenced by massification, privatization, and internationalization.
The chapter closes with a critical commentary of whether massification is occasioning more creative growth, restructuring and re-imaginations of the HE sector and its institutions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
All Africa. (2008). Ile Maurice: L’offre dépasse la demande de places à l’université. Available via https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200803031149.html. Accessed 16 Oct 2019.
CampusFrance. (2019). Arrêté du 19 avril 2019 relatif aux droits d’inscription dans les établissements publics d’enseignement supérieur. Available via https://www.campusfrance.org/en/droits-inscription-2019-2020-etudiants internationauxacademic year. Accessed 20 Apr 2019.
Cloete, N., Bunting, I., & Van Schalkwyk, P. (2018). Research universities in Africa. Cape Town: African Minds.
DefiMedia. (2016, November 21). Mauritius-India relations cultural roots rebound economic thrusts Retrieved from https://defimedia.info/mauritius-india-relations-cultural-roots-rebound-economic-thrusts.
Dhakal, S., Prikshat, V., Nankervis, A., et al. (2018). An introduction to the transition from graduation to work: Challenges and strategies in the Asia pacific and beyond. In S. Dhakal, V. Prikshat, A. Nankervis, & J. Burgess (Eds.), The transition from graduation to work (pp. 3–13). Singapore: Springer.
Fessha, Y., & Yo Tu Nam, N. (2015). Is it time to let go? The best loser system in Mauritius. Afrika Focus, 28(1), 63–79.
Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin. (2019). Mauritius chapter. Available via http://www.go-pio.org/mauritius/. Accessed 23 Nov 2019.
Gokulsing, D. (2014). Positioning Mauritius as a knowledge hub in the context of globalisation. International Journal of Education and Practice, Conscientia Beam, 2(7), 159–173.
Government of Mauritius. (2019). Publications – Economic and social indicators 2019. Available via http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/Publications/Documents/2018/EI1391/LF_Emp_Unemp_1Qtr18.pdf. Accessed 30 Oct 2019.
Government of Singapore. (2019). Singapore in figures 2019. Department of Statistics. Available via https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/reference/sif2019.pdf, Accessed 14 Nov 2019.
Hanoomanjee, E. (2005). Population and economics – A case study of Mauritius. International Research Foundation for Development. Available via http://irfd.org/events/wfsids/virtual/papers/sids_ehanoomanjee.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2019.
Human Resource Development Council. (2007). Report of sectoral committee on emerging sectors. Sectoral Committee Reports. Available via http://www.hrdc.mu/index.php/publications/sectoral-committee-reports. Accessed 12 Mar 2018.
Index Mundi. (2019). Mauritius demographics profile Available via –https://www.indexmundi.com› Mauritius › demographics_profile. Accessed 10 Oct 2018.
International Organisation for Migration. (2014). Migration in Mauritius: A country profile. Available via https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mp_mauritius_26aug2014.pdf. Accessed 04 Nov 2019.
Knight, J. (2004). Internationalization remodeled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315303260832. Accessed 20 May 2018.
London, J. (2016). Governance and the governance of higher education in Vietnam. In K. H. Mok (Ed.), The search for new governance of higher education in Asia (pp. 193–214). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Mariaye, H., & Samuel, M. (2018). Education hubs and private higher education expansion in small island developing states contexts: The case of Mauritius. Transformation in Higher Education, 3, 11 pages. https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v3i0.46. Accessed 01 Oct 2019.
Mauritius Qualifications Authority. (2016a). Quality assurance framework for the TVET sector in Mauritius. Available via http://www.mqa.mu/English/Documents/QAF.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2019.
Mauritius Qualifications Authority. (2016b). Quality standards for training institutions. Available via http://www.mqa.mu/English/Regulatory%20Framework/Pages/Act.aspx. Accessed 19 Nov 2019.
Médine Ltd. (2018). UNICITI Education Hub. Available viahttp://www.medine.com/our-activities/education. Accessed 21 Mar 2018.
Middlesex International Ltd. (2016). Middlesex University and Medine partner on new Mauritius campus. Available via https://www.mdx.ac.uk/news/2016/05/middlesex-university-and-medine-partner-on-new-mauritius-campus. Accessed 18 May 2018.
Mohadeb, M. P. (2010). Mauritius. In: Pillay P (Ed.), Cape Town. Centre for Higher Education Transformation, Cape Town, pp. 81–102.
Mohamedbhai, G. (2006). Quality assurance in tertiary education in Mauritius. Paper presented at Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education Seminar. Sevres, France. 18–20 June 2006.
Mohamedbhai, G. (2019). What are the implications of free public tertiary education? World University News. Available via https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190128092709847. Accessed 01 Feb 2019.
Morgan, J. (2015). Wolverhampton to shut down Mauritius campus. Times Higher Education. Available via https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/wolverhampton-shut-down-mauritius-campus. Accessed 04 Apr 2015.
Motala, S., & Kinser, K. (2017). Rich lessons from implementing internationalization. World University News. Available via https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20170920095350222. Accessed 22 Sept 2017.
OECD. (2016). Skills matter: Further results from the survey of adult skills, OECD skills studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en. Accessed on 02 Jan 2020.
Ramdoo, I. (2014). Economic transformation in Mauritius. GREAT Insights 3(5). Available via https://ecdpm.org/great-insights/value-chains-industrialisation/economic-transformation-mauritius-heterodox-journey/. Accessed 26 Nov 2019.
Ramtohul, R. (2016). Globalisation, internationalisation and higher education in Mauritius: The compromise of quality. Africa Development, XLI(3), 117–138.
Republic of Mauritius. (2017a). Higher education bill. Available via http://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/English/bills/Documents/intro/2017/bill2017.pdf. Accessed 19 Nov 2019.
Republic of Mauritius. (2017b). Rising to the challenge of our ambitions-Budget speech 2017–2018. Available via https://www2.govmu.org/EN/portaldocs/Pages/Budget-Speech-2017-2018.aspx. Accessed 26 Nov 2019.
Republic of Mauritius. (2017c). Three Year Strategic Plan2017/2018–2019/2020 Pursuing our transformative journey. Available via http://budget.mof.govmu.org/budget2018-19/2018_193-YearPlan.pdf. Accessed 22 Nov 2019.
Republic of Mauritius. (2019). Economic and social indicators. Statistics Mauritius. Available via http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/StatsbySubj/Pages/Education.aspx. Accessed 30 Oct 2019.
Roopchund, R. (2018). Higher education challenges for public universities in Mauritius. International Journal of Management in Education, 13(3), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMIE.2019.100401.
Samuel, M., & Mariaye, H. (2016). Continuity, complexity and change. Teacher education in Mauritius. Champaign: Commonground Publishers.
Singh, M. (2011). Equity and quality in the revitalisation of African higher education: Trends and challenges. Research in Comparative and International Education, 6(4), 348–365. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2011.6.4.348.
Svirydzenka, K., & Petri, M. (2017). Mauritius – the drivers of growth: Can the past be extended? International Monetary Fund Working Paper. Available via https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2016/12/31/Mauritius-The-Drivers-of-Growth-Can-the-Past-be-Extended-41785. Accessed 20 Nov 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2005). Summary of external audit report University of Mauritius. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/pubrep/UoM%20Summary%20External%20QA%20Report%20(May%202005).pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2010). Participation in tertiary education 2009–2010. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/Participation_Tertiary_Education_2018.pdf. Accessed 03 Nov 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2012a). Report of the second cycle quality audit of the University of Mauritius. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/pubrep/UoMAuditReport200213.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2012b). Report of the third cycle quality audit of the University of Mauritius. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/pubrep/UoM_Audit_Report_Final_041218.pdf. Accessed 10 Nov 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2013). TEC distance education policy. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/deoldoc.pdf. Accessed 29 Oct 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2018). Annual report 2017–2018. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/pubrep/AnnualReport2017-2018.pdf. Accessed 16 Oct 2019.
Tertiary Education Commission. (2019). Participation in tertiary education 2009–2010. Available via http://www.tec.mu/pdf_downloads/Participation_Tertiary_Education_2019.pdf. Accessed 18 Feb 2020.
Trow, M. (2016). Higher education and its growth. In S. Marginson (Ed.), The dream is over: The crisis of Clark Kerr’s California idea of higher education (pp. 28–35). Berkeley: University of California Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1kc6k1p.9. Accessed 20 Nov 2019
Verbik, L., & Lasanowski, V. (2007). International student mobility: Patterns and trends. The observatory on borderless higher education. Available via https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83543455.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct 2019.
World Bank. (2015). Mauritius systematic country diagnostics report number 92703-MU. Available via https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23110?locale-attribute=es. Accessed 20 Nov 2019.
World Bank. (2018a). Mauritius: Addressing inequality through more equitable labor markets. Available via https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mauritius/publication/mauritius-addressing-inequality-through-more-equitable-labor-markets. Accessed 07 Nov 2019.
World Bank. (2018b). World Bank in Mauritius: An overview. Available via https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mauritius/overview. Accessed 17 Nov 2019.
Zafar, A. (2011). Mauritius: An economic success story. Washington: Office of Chief Economist Africa Region, World Bank. Available via https://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/Resources/Mauritius_success.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2018.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mariaye, H., Samuel, M.A. (2020). Co-Existing Agendas for Higher Education in Mauritius. In: Sarangapani, P., Pappu, R. (eds) Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_61-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_61-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3309-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3309-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education