Being good at studies and having attended a star school I might have seen the current education system to be most appropriate to me. I did my CPE, ranked good, went to secondary school… still unsure what I’d become… I did science because it led to more openings according to my parents. I almost did medicine, and corrected myself at the last minute to do something I really love – computers…
Wait, what did I actually learn at primary school? Maths and languages… Does it mean that the (nearly) half who fail CPE aren’t worth going to college? Not everyone is good at math and languages (I’m omitting EVS – now as art, and a few more)…
A more appropriate selection of subject is the large choice you get in Form 1 to Form 3… That’s when you get to know if you’re going to be in one stream and in which one you’re good. That’s where I say the competition should be. CPE level is too harsh for 11 year old children. At 14, they’re more ready for that kind of competition.
People have tried to remove CPE and then introduce them back. Tried to make regional schools and HSC schools. They were flawed. Flawed because of the little time the kids get to adapt to their new school and the lack of proper selection post SC level. Simply grading isn’t enough. So many were not able to perform in these HSC schools…
My ideal solution is to
- CPE leads you to middle schools, equipped to do Form 1 to Form 3 only, with a variety of subjects. Regional – not the huge zone 2 that covers from Beau Bassin to Trou d’Eau Douce. Smaller ones. Say district or population based. This will reduce fatigue and dropout at CPE level, as well as reduce traffic jam.
- Middle Schools lead to High Schools that have Form 4-5 to Lower 6-Upper 6. There would be specific schools for each stream: science schools, economics, arts, humanities. Still leading to the same SC and HSC but say a science school would have better equipped labs, specialised teachers, larger library for humanities, theatres and workshops for arts… A lot of money would be saved since Middle Schools would not have as much facilities. Better resource utilisation.
These High Schools would also give the children enough time to develop a sense of belonging during these four years. Even a culture of middle-high school would develop, from a limited vast middle school to a specialised high school.
I’d say it’s possible in Mauritius. We hear of the coming national Form 3 exams… It’s not enough I say. In my above suggestions, CPE will slowly lose it’s importance in favour of Form 3, and ideally we’ll have less dropouts and more people doing things that they really liked. They’d be discovering their aptitudes earlier in life, and that in itself leads to greater productivity in the long run, for the betterment of Mauritius.
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