Mauritius continues to pave the way for equal access to Higher Education

Amember of the African Union, Mauritius is also concerned by the Agenda 2063, the blueprint for the development of Africa. Its vision being: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena”

Regarding Education, the African Union is implementing its Continental Education Strategy (CESA 16-25) that capitalizes on education actors, Member States, Regional Economic Communities and Development Partners, among others, to collectively transform the education systems in Africa, focusing on Early Childhood Education, Higher Education, TVET, Teacher Development, Curriculum Development, among other CESA strategic objectives.

Within this regional context, Mauritius continues to play a satisfying role in providing education to students of all ages, without gender discrimination, tertiary education being free for undergraduate students. According to Statistics Mauritius, the country allocated Rs 20.762 million (9.6% of its budget) to education and training for the period 2021-2022.

Statistics Mauritius gives an overview of the existing public and private institutions for different age groups and needs. With regards to tertiary education, as at December 2022, the total number of students (part-time and full-time) enrolled on tertiary-level programmes (including Distance Education) was 50,566 compared to 49,497 in December 2021, representing an increase of 2.2%. The majority of students (84.7%) were enrolled in tertiary education locally in both public-funded institutions (54.7%) and private institutions (30.0%). The remaining 15.3% of the students were enrolled in tertiary education overseas.

The total turnover for the Education sector rose by 30%, reaching Rs 2.7 Bn. However, the Profit before tax is extremely varied between 2021 and 2022, which shows that the sector is still coping with the effects of the disruption caused by the pandemic. Additionally, ICT expenditures and training have become a priority so that all schools are equipped, staff trained and all students able to received blended education in the best conditions.