internationalisation of tertiary education in...
TRANSCRIPT
Internationalisation of Tertiary Education in Mauritius – Current State,
Future Plans and Challenges
Professor Goolam Mohamedbhai
Former Vice Chancellor of University of Mauritius
ABSTRACT
In 2005, a proposal was made to develop Mauritius into a Knowledge Hub and a Centre of
Higher Learning, the foremost rationale being to reposition Mauritius to meet the needs of an
increasingly competitive, knowledge-based and globalised economy. The main strategies to
be used are strengthening the existing public tertiary education institutions, attracting
foreign students, and encouraging the setting up of local private universities and branch
campuses of internationally renowned universities. Subsequently, in its 2007-2011 Strategic
Plan, the Tertiary Education Commission mentions its mission as to “position Mauritius in
the Region as a world-class Knowledge Hub and the gateway for post-secondary education”.
Internationalisation of tertiary education is therefore a key economic development strategy
for Mauritius. There is, however, a dearth of well-documented information on the
internationalisation activities of tertiary education institutions in Mauritius and, in 2006, a
survey was therefore carried out to determine these activities. The main results of that survey
are presented and some of the major changes that have taken place in tertiary education in
Mauritius since 2005 are reviewed. The challenges that Mauritius will have to overcome in
implementing its national internationalisation strategy in tertiary education, especially in its
attempt to create a Knowledge Hub, are finally discussed.
Keywords: Mauritius; Tertiary Education Institutions; Internationalisation; Knowledge Hub.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper has drawn heavily on the chapter on “Mauritius” by the author in the book Higher
Education in Africa: the International Dimension [2].
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1 INTRODUCTION Until the end of the 20
th century, Mauritius, a small island sate with a population of about 1.2
million, had no explicit rationale or policy for internationalizing its tertiary education sector.
After independence in 1968, Mauritius consolidated its economy and the priority was to
produce the skilled manpower for staffing the public and private sector institutions, and for
supporting the main drivers of the economy, namely sugar production, manufacturing and
tourism. The University of Mauritius (UoM), which was set up as a developmental
university, played that role very well. The economy of Mauritius flourished and some of the
main factors which contributed to this were: a guaranteed price for sugar exported to Europe
under the Lome Convention1; availability of skilled and relatively cheap labour for
manufacturing textile apparel for export; and duty free and easy access to European markets
of manufactured garments, again under the Lome Convention.
At the end of the 20th
century, globalization and liberalization of international trade started to
have an impact on the economy of Mauritius. There were signs that a guaranteed sugar price
exported to Europe would gradually disappear, exports of manufactured garments to Europe
would have to be on a competitive basis, and the Multi-Fibre Agreement which restricted
imports to Europe and the US from the Asian countries, to the benefit of countries such as
Mauritius, would be dismantled. Also, the export products of Mauritius were becoming less
competitive because of the increase in labour cost, and the country could no longer compete
with rising giants such as India and China. It was realized that Mauritius would have to
manufacture up-market products, its industries would need to embrace high technology, and
it should move towards a services-driven economy. Mauritius had therefore to place greater
emphasis on producing a large pool of highly qualified personnel in order to remain
competitive in the knowledge-based and globalized economy. To achieve that objective, the
importance of a strategy to internationalise the tertiary education sector became imperative.
1 A trade agreement between Europe and the African, Caribbean and Pacific states, most of which were former
European colonies.
2 KNOWLEDGE HUB STRATEGY OF 2005 In the year 2000, the government of Mauritius came forward with a New Economic Agenda
whereby Mauritius would shift from traditional economic sectors to the service sectors. It
proposed to develop Mauritius into a Knowledge Hub. In 2005, a report was published by
the then Ministry of Education [1] which outlined bold measures on how this was to be
achieved. The report defined the Knowledge Hub as “an ‘ensemble’ of knowledge-intensive
institutions and organizations, public, private and overseas, involved to generate, store,
transfer, apply and transmit knowledge through education and training with the overall
objective of fostering economic and social development.” The report emphasized that the
tertiary education system would be regarded as the pillar of the Knowledge Hub.
The strategies proposed in the report for achieving the objective of creating the Knowledge
Hub were as follows:
a) The two public universities, UoM and University Technology, Mauritius (UTM), should
become reputable and international institutions to be able to attract international students.
Although they would continue to receive state support, they should also generate their own
funds.
b) Because of the importance of open and distance learning, both for Mauritius and for Sub-
Saharan Africa, the Mauritius College of the Air (MCA)2 would be transformed into the
Open University of Mauritius and would be bilingual in English and French.
c) The setting up of a limited number of quality private universities, operating independently
or in conjunction with overseas partners, would be encouraged.
d) Renowned brand name universities and institutions would be allowed to establish
branches/offshore campuses in Mauritius in selected disciplines. In order to ensure quality,
this would be done by invitation and operational criteria would be laid down.
e) The setting up of Regional Training Centres would be promoted in identified areas. These
would include Financial Services, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Teacher Education
and Aircraft Maintenance/Repairs and Overhaul Services.
2 A centre for the production and dissemination of educational audio-visual materials for broadcasting to primary
and secondary schools but which incorporates a Distance Education Division that runs undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
f) In view of the specificity and acquired expertise of Mauritius, institutions would be
encouraged to provide training in languages, to offer textile sector services and provide
education and training consultancy services.
g) An overarching and robust regulatory framework for tertiary education would be
established to cater for the operation of private institutions, for the setting up of branch
campuses of overseas universities, for ensuring quality of all tertiary education institutions in
Mauritius, and for the recognition and equivalence of qualifications.
h) An incentive scheme would be provided to attract leading foreign institutions to set up
offshore Education and Training Centres in Mauritius, either alone or with Mauritian
partners.
The above report was prepared under the aegis of the government that was in office from
2000-2005. A new government was elected in July 2005 and implementation of the report
got delayed. However, as will be outlined later, the main strategies for developing Mauritius
into a Knowledge Hub have been maintained.
3 SURVEY OF INTERNATIONALISATION OF TERTIARY EDUCATION
(2005) To implement the Knowledge Hub strategy, however, it is vital to have information on the
internationalisation activities of tertiary education institutions in Mauritius. In 2006 very
limited published information and data were available on such activities at national or even
institutional level. It was therefore decided to carry out a survey of all post-secondary
institutions in Mauritius. The survey questionnaire for private institutions sought information
on their ownership, on foreign students and staff and on programmes they run on behalf of
foreign institutions. The one for public institutions additionally enquired about collaborative
linkages with foreign institutions, membership of regional/international associations, the
international dimension of their curriculum and institutional policies and structures for
internationalization. The questionnaires were sent to all the 9 public and 36 private
institutions operating in Mauritius at that time, the data requested being for the year 2005 [2].
3.1 PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
The 9 public institutions are: 2 universities, the UoM and the UTM; 2 institutes, the Mauritius
Institute of Education (MIE) and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) – the latter runs
programmes in Indian studies and fine and performing arts; 2 polytechnics, the Swami
Dayanand Institute of Management and the Institut Superieur de Technologie; the MCA; the
Industrial and Vocational Training Board for technical and vocational courses; and the
Mauritius Institute of Health which runs national and regional training programmes for
medical practitioners and paramedical staff. Table 1 shows the student enrolment in the 9
institutions.
Table 1: Student Enrolment in Public Institutions in 2005 [3]
Institution Student Enrolment % of Total
University of Mauritius 6,650 49.6
University of Technology Mauritius 1,467 11.0
Mauritius Institute of Education 3,001 22.4
Mahatma Gandhi Institute 546 4.1
Mauritius College of the Air 356 2.7
Swami Dayanand Institute of Management 632 4.7
Institut Superieur de Technologie 329 2.5
Industrial & Vocational Training Board 385 2.9
Mauritius Institute of Health 31 0.2
Total 13,397 100.1
3.2 PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS
The majority of the 36 private institutions had fairly small student cohorts (30-200), although
a couple of them had student enrolment exceeding 1,000. Most of them offered their
programmes, mostly part-time, under franchise agreement with overseas institutions. Three of
the institutions have a strong regional/international focus: a) The SSR Medical College, a
private Indian institution which runs degrees in medicine and dentistry under an affiliation
with the UoM. b) The Mauras College of Dentistry, a similar private Indian institution but
affiliated to the University of Bhavnagar in India. c) The Institut de la Francophonie pour
l’Entrepreneuriat (IFE), which runs a postgraduate diploma in entrepreneurial studies mainly
for foreign students.
No precise figures of enrolment in the private institutions were available. From a record of
the 40 overseas institutions and examining bodies providing tertiary education in Mauritius
[3], a total enrolment of 8,110 was arrived at. This figure, however, includes students who
followed distance education courses with overseas institutions on their own.
3.3 STUDENTS STUDYING OVERSEAS
Every year, over 2,000 students leave Mauritius for studying in overseas higher education
institutions, and this figure has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2005, there were
7,357 students pursuing tertiary education studies abroad [3]. The four countries with the
highest number of students were France, India, UK and Australia, together accounting for
87% of Mauritian students overseas. This is a very significant figure, representing 34% of
students studying in Mauritius, and is greater than the number of students enrolled at the
UoM in 2005.
3.4 SURVEY RESPONSE
All the 9 public institutions responded, and 18 of the private ones returned their completed
questionnaire.
The SSR Medical College and the Mauras College of Dentistry did not respond to the survey.
They are owned by private Indian trusts. Statistics were not available but it was estimated that
the SSR Medical College had about 400 students and the Mauras College about 150. In both
cases roughly 60-70% of the students were from India and the remainder mostly from
Mauritius, with a few from Africa. Almost all their teaching staff were from India.
IFE did respond. It was set up by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), and
runs an 18-month full-time postgraduate diploma in entrepreneurship, with an intake of 35-40
students from nearly 20 Francophone countries from Africa and south-east Asia. Although
the diploma is awarded by the AUF, IFE has agreements with University of Bordeaux and
University of Paris in France which enable successful candidates to obtain a Master’s degree
from these universities at the same time.
The remaining 33 private institutions were similar in that they all ran programmes for other
foreign institutions under franchise agreement. Some of them were linked to a single
institution whereas others ran programmes from several institutions in more than one country.
The programme level ranged from Master’s to Bachelor’s degree to diploma and certificate,
in some cases all run in the same institution. The foreign institutions were universities or
professional associations or private institutions. The method of course delivery was usually
face-to-face lectures, supplemented by print materials (often Distance Education) from the
foreign institution, and tutorials.
Table 2 summarises the response received from both the public and private institutions with
respect to full-time foreign students and staff and academic mobility. It should be
emphasized that in all cases the figures are indicative. The figures for the private institutions
do not include figures from the SSR Medical College and the Mauras College of Dentistry
which, together, had the largest number of foreign students (estimated at 300-400) and staff
in Mauritius
Table 2: Foreign Students/Staff and Mobility of Students/Staff in Tertiary Education Institutions in
Mauritius, 2005 [2]
Public Institutions
Private Institutions*
Students
Total enrolment 13,397 4,368
Foreign 82 61
Inward mobility 35 -
Outward mobility 31 -
Academic Staff
Total full-time staff 769 85
Foreign 12 5
Inward mobility 89 -
External Examiners 92 -
Outward mobility (short stay) 57 -
Outward mobility (long stay) 14 - * 18 institutions, excluding SSR Medical & Mauras Dentistry Colleges
What is striking from Table 2 is the very low number of foreign students in the institutions,
whether public or private. Foreign students represent only about 0.6% of total enrolment in
public institutions. Half of the foreign students in private institutions in Table 2 were from
IFE.
Clearly the tertiary education institutions in Mauritius are missing out on an important
element of internationalisation of tertiary education. The number of foreign students coming
to Mauritius for short periods of study, as well as the number of Mauritian students
proceeding to overseas institutions on study exchange programmes, are also very low.
Mauritius being a small island state, it is desirable for some Mauritian students to have the
opportunity to be exposed to another part of the world. The main stumbling block for
outward mobility appeared to be finance.
The number of full-time foreign academic staff in the various institutions was also very low.
Only about 1.5% of the teaching staff in public institutions were foreigners. While all public
institutions received quite a significant number of visiting academics for short periods, the
latter’s contribution can only be limited. A reasonable number of foreign faculty staff in an
institution can be very effective in creating an international culture in that institution, in
addition to bringing their foreign expertise.
External examination is undertaken in almost all the public institutions, as can be seen from
the fairly large number in Table 2. All final year degree examinations of almost all the
institutions are externally examined. External examiners are drawn from the UK, Africa,
India, Australia and even Canada and the US. External examination plays an important role
in giving an international dimension to the programmes, in ensuring quality and also in
exposing local staff to recent international developments in their respective fields through
talks and lectures. All the institutions follow the semester system of the academic year, the
programmes are modularised and almost all the modules of the various programmes are
assigned credits as per international norms. Good graduates of public institutions of
Mauritius have no difficulty in being admitted to postgraduate programmes of some of the
best universities in UK, France, India and USA.
Almost all the public institutions had links with overseas institutions, either for curriculum
development, mobility of staff and students or for advice on academic/administrative matters.
Most of the links reported were for mobility or teaching, and most of them were with British,
French, Australian and Indian institutions. Relatively few collaborative links for research
were reported. Based on information from the survey, Table 3 shows the various types of
linkages in the public institutions. The number of networks and associations to which the
institutions belong are also indicated.
Table 3: Number and Types of Linkages and Membership of Networks and Associations in Public
Institutions, 2005 [2]
Links/Networks/Associations Number
Staff/student exchange 21
Administration of joint degrees 10
Research 7
Membership of networks 16
Membership of associations 23
Although most of the institutions reported not having a policy on internationalization, they
were clearly quite active in the field. This is perhaps because the initiative for international
activities is left to individual staff. No institution had a well-structured international office
and, generally, no specific budget was allocated for internationalisation, although some
institutions made financial provision for the visits of external examiners and other short-term
visitors. For international activities to really take off in the institutions, a pro-active approach
should be adopted, with activities identified, targets set and sufficient funds allocated.
4 DEVELOPMENTS SINCE 2005 Initially the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) had the mandate of planning, developing
and coordinating public tertiary education in Mauritius. In 2005 its governing legislation was
amended to extend its responsibilities to register and regulate the operation of private
institutions, including foreign branch campuses, and accredit their programmes.
Also, the Board of Investment in Mauritius, whose objective is to promote investment,
extended its numerous financial incentives and benefits to private tertiary education
institutions or branch campuses set up in Mauritius.
In TEC’s Strategic Plan 2007-2011 [4], its mission is given as ‘positioning Mauritius in the
region as a world-class Knowledge Hub and the gateway for post-secondary education’. One
of its goals is also to develop Open and Distance Learning (ODL) to increase access and
promote lifelong learning locally and regionally.
In 2010 a new Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology, separate
from the Ministry of Education, was created. In TEC’s latest report on participation in tertiary
education in 2009 [5], the creation of this new Ministry is mentioned as a commitment of
government’s drive to transform Mauritius into a Regional Knowledge Hub, the objectives
being to have at least one graduate in each household and to attract 100,000 foreign students
by the year 2020.
Since 2005, two new public institutions have been created, the Fashion and Design Institute
affiliated to the UTM and the Rabindranath Tagore Institute affiliated to the MGI, but both
have very few students at present. The number of private institutions has increased from 36 to
50. From the list published in the TEC 2010 report, although a few are mentioned as branch
campuses, none appears to be associated with any “renowned brand name institution” as was
expected in the 2005 Knowledge Hub report. However, a branch campus of Middlesex
University (UK) has started operation in 2010, and it is reported [6] that well-known foreign
institutions like Birla Institute of Technology (India) and Limkokwing University (Malaysia)
are in the process of setting up branch campuses in Mauritius.
The major change that has occurred in the tertiary education sector from 2005 to 2009 is a
significant increase in student enrolment (see Table 4). The number of students studying
overseas has also significantly increased. The Gross Tertiary Enrolment Ratios (GTER),
defined as the number of students pursuing tertiary education expressed as a proportion of the
population aged 20-24, are also given in Table 4. Government’s plan is to increase the GTER
to 70% by 2015. TEC computes the GTER on the basis of total enrolment, including
Mauritian students studying overseas. Such a ratio does not, however, give a true reflection of
student enrolment in Mauritius. In Table 4, the GTER values calculated excluding overseas
enrolment are therefore also given.
Table 4: Increase in Enrolment from 2005 to 2009 [3]-[5]
Enrolment 2005 2009 % increase
Public Institutions 13,397 19,406 44.8%
Private Institutions/Distance Education 8,110 10,663 31.4%
Overseas Institutions 7,357 10,939 48.7%
Total Enrolment 28,864 41,008 42.1%
GTER (total enrolment) 28.4% 43.4% -
GTER (excluding students studying overseas) 21.1% 31.8% -
The TEC 2010 report, for the first time, provides figures of foreign students studying in
Mauritius. The total number in 2009 was 476, roughly 1% of total enrolment. This figure is
more or less the same as was estimated for 2005. The bulk of foreign students (80%) continue
to study at the SSR Medical College, the Mauras College of Dentistry and IFE.
Also for the first time, the TEC 2010 report provides figures of students following
programmes by ODL (see Table 5). Clearly, the use of ODL in tertiary education is well-
established in Mauritius. Although Government has confirmed its intention of creating an
Open University of Mauritius, no plans for such an institution have yet been made public.
Table 5: Use of Open and Distance Learning in Mauritius (2009) [5]
Number of Students
In Public Institutions 4,454
In Private Institutions 538
Registered Directly with Overseas Institutions 3,352
TOTAL 8,344
5 CRITICAL ISSUES AND CHALLENGES In proposing to make Mauritius a Knowledge Hub, the government has recognized the
importance of transforming Mauritius into a knowledge-based economy, and the crucial role
that tertiary education plays in such an economy. The proposed strategy of significantly
increasing the tertiary education enrolment ratio, while at the same time attracting renowned
tertiary education institutions and a large number of foreign students to Mauritius over the
next decade, is laudable. However, such a strategy poses many challenges and needs to be
carefully implemented. For example, increasing the GTER to 70% by 2015 implies
increasing student enrolment by about 5,000 per year over the next five years. This is a huge
challenge considering that over the past five years the student enrolment has increased, on
average, by 3,000 a year. Also, increasing enrolment is but one objective; ensuring quality,
relevance and successful completion are as important.
5.1 STRENGTHENING THE PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
The 2005 Knowledge Hub report mentions that UoM and UTM must become reputable
regional and international institutions. However, it also mentions that there are competing
demands for public funds, that the universities would have to generate their own funds to
supplement the government grants and that government will rely heavily on domestic private
sector and overseas brand name institutions to achieve its objective. Indeed, the 2011 budget
and the estimated 2012 and 2013 budgets for the tertiary education sector [7] show that the
recurrent grants allocated to all public institutions would gradually be reduced. This could
have serious repercussion on the institutions, especially as the greatest enrolment has so far
taken place in the public institutions. Every country should endeavour to establish a strong,
quality public tertiary education sector while opening up to private institutions, local or
international. This was the strategy adopted by Singapore and Malaysia. Otherwise there is a
real danger that the presence of private and foreign institutions could weaken the public ones.
Both UoM and UTM are presently constrained in their expansion and progress by lack of
resources: physical, financial and human. There is a proposal to build a new university
campus to enable both institutions to accommodate some additional 8,000 students. It has
also been reported [8] that five new decentralised campuses will be built. Such initiatives will
go a long way towards alleviating the acute shortage of space on both campuses.
UoM is also constrained by the fact that it cannot charge tuition fees to its undergraduate
students because of government policy. UoM should be allowed to charge tuition fees,
otherwise it would be near to impossible for it to supplement the reduced government grant.
The fact that UTM, also a publicly-funded university, is allowed to charge undergraduate
tuition fees makes it a stronger case for UoM to follow the same path. Also, both universities
have their staff salaries fixed by the national Pay Research Bureau, which does not give them
the leeway to attract the best Mauritian brains, let alone the best international professors.
Under such circumstances it would not be easy for UoM and UTM to become institutions of
international repute.
5.2 CREATING THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS
There is no doubt that wide use of ODL can significantly increase enrolment. However, the
proposal to convert the MCA into an Open University of Mauritius needs to be considered
with caution. Presently, the Distance Education Division of the MCA acts mainly as an
agency for distance education providers, mainly the Indira Gandhi National Open University
(IGNOU) of India. It really has limited academic and technical resources for producing its
own teaching materials, providing support to its students and arranging for their assessment.
It would require enormous resources to convert it into an Open University. The proposal is
viable only if the Open University could enrol a large number of regional and international
students. However, it is difficult to see how it can compete with such recognized and
established institutions as University of South Africa (UNISA) and IGNOU, both of which
already enrol a large number of Mauritian students.
5.3 FOREIGN STUDENTS
The proposal to increase the number of foreign students to 100,000 by 2020 is another major
challenge, considering that currently there are only about 500. So far most of the foreign
students are in private institutions. It is important for public universities, too, to attract them,
not only from an internationalisation perspective but also for income generation. However,
the public universities face many constraints. First, there is a big demand for seats on their
programmes from Mauritian students and the institutions, understandably, tend to give
preference to local applicants. Second, although Mauritius is bilingual in English and French,
the language of instruction in most institutions is English and, in particular, the system of
education is British-based. This makes it difficult to attract students from Francophone
countries such as the nearby La Reunion or Madagascar, or even from Africa. Third, as in
UK, tertiary education in Mauritius is structured around 13 years of schooling, whereas
students from Africa or Asia usually have 12 years of schooling. This might require a
preparatory year for foreign students. Finally, the public institutions do not have residential
facilities. The UoM is planning to put up a 100-room on-campus hall of residence. The
proposed new university campus, and decentralised campuses, should also make provision
for students’ residences. Since the programmes run by the public institutions in Mauritius are
modularized and the credit system is used, increasing the number of foreign students under
exchanges for one or two semesters may prove to be much easier.
5.4 DOMESTIC PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES AND FOREIGN BRANCH CAMPUSES
Most of the local private institutions act as agents for cross-border higher education providers
overseas, and it is not obvious that any of them has the capacity to operate as a full-fledged
university, mounting its own programmes, providing a quality teaching and learning
environment, undertaking research and awarding its own degrees. The number of students
registered with local private institutions has been steadily increasing in recent years and,
because of the large unmet demand for tertiary education and the generous incentives
provided by the Board of Investment, TEC will be under enormous pressure to allow even
more private, for-profit, business-oriented institutions to be set up. This could undermine the
Knowledge Hub strategy.
So far hardly any world repute universities have set up branch campuses in Mauritius.
Countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Qatar and South Korea are way ahead of
Mauritius in creating Knowledge Hubs or Education Cities; they have made heavy
investments, have attracted some renowned universities and offer a far greater market,
nationally or regionally, than Mauritius can. It is, however, undeniable that Mauritius offers
an exceptionally attractive environment, physically, socially and culturally, for international
higher education development. It is to be hoped that this, coupled with the proposed
incentives and the possibility of attracting continental African students, both Anglophone and
Francophone, can persuade international institutions to come to Mauritius.
5.5 MAURITIAN STUDENTS STUDYING OVERSEAS
The continuously increasing number of Mauritian students proceeding overseas every year
for higher education, either under scholarships or privately, requires urgent attention.
Although statistics are not available, it is believed that a significant number of them do not
return to Mauritius. Apart from the problem of a drain on the country’s foreign exchange,
brain drain from Mauritius is a matter of concern. It is often argued, using India as an
example, that there are long term benefits to a country when its highly qualified nationals
work abroad. However, such an argument is not valid for a small country like Mauritius,
where the pool of highly skilled people needed to spearhead the country’s development is
very small. The expansion and improved quality of the public institutions, as well as the
setting up of good private institutions and branch campuses of renowned universities would
provide better educational opportunities locally and that should help to stem the flow of
qualified students from Mauritius.
5.6 KEEPING RECORDS OF INSTITUTIONAL INTERNATIONALISATION
ACTIVITIES
The public institutions have established a plethora of linkages with foreign institutions and
regularly invite foreign academic staff to their campuses for teaching, research, examination
or advice. They also belong to regional and international networks and associations.
However, because of the lack of a proper institutional coordinating mechanism, most
institutions do not keep an accurate record of their rich internationalisation activities. It is
imperative that such a mechanism be set up in each institution. At the national level, TEC
should devise an appropriate instrument to collect institutional data of internationalisation
activities and have these compiled and published in much the same way that it publishes the
comprehensive data on student participation in tertiary education.
6 CONCLUSION Because of globalization, Mauritius is shifting its economic base to an increasingly
knowledge-based economy, which requires a large pool of highly skilled people. However,
the tertiary education participation rate is still low at present and needs to be significantly
increased. To meet this challenge, the government has proposed to make Mauritius a
Knowledge Hub. The strategy is to encourage the existing public universities to become
institutions of international standing, to facilitate the setting up of local, quality private
universities and to attract renowned foreign universities to set up branch campuses in
Mauritius. In implementing this strategy, the public institutions will have to be provided with
additional resources to ensure that they are not marginalized by the private and foreign ones.
If this bold strategy is successful, it can really transform the tertiary education scene in
Mauritius, making it one of the preferred destinations for tertiary education, not only for
Mauritian students but for international students as well. Tertiary education in Mauritius is,
indeed, at a cross-roads at the moment.
REFERENCES [1] Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. Developing Mauritius into a Knowledge Hub and a
Centre of Higher Education. Mauritius, 2005. Retrieved in January 2011 from
http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/educationsite/file/knowhub.pdf
[2] Goolam Mohamedbhai, “Mauritius”. A book chapter, pp. 262-301. Higher Education in Africa:
the International Dimension, edited by D. Teferra & J. Knight. ISBN 978-99-8858-940-9. Published
by Center for International Higher Education, Boston College and Association of African
Universities, August 2008.
[3] Tertiary Education Commission. Participation in Tertiary Education 2005. Mauritius, 2006.
[4] Tertiary Education Commission. Strategic Plan 2007-2011. Mauritius, 2007.
[5] Tertiary Education Commission. Participation in Tertiary Education 2009. Mauritius, 2010.
[6] Board of Investment (BOI). Mauritius. Retrieved in February 2011 from
http://www.investmauritius.com/Knowledge1.aspx
[7] Ministry of Finance (MOF). 2011 Programme Based Budget. Mauritius. Retrieved in February
2011 from http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/mof/PBB2011.pdf
[8] The Independent. Jeetah Identifies Campus Site. Retrieved in February 2011 from
http://theindependent.mu/2011/01/01/jeetah-identifies-campus-site/