PRIVATE TUITION IN MAURITIUS: A CASE STUDY

Submitted by MMATHOORAH

April 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction PAGE

2.0 Scope of the Study

3.0 Methodology

4.0 Using the Cause and Effect Diagram

4.1 People

4.1.1 Parents

4.1.2 Experts

4.1.3 Teachers

4.1.4 The Student

4.1.5 The Management of School

4.2 The Political and Social Environment

5.0 Using SWOT Analysis

5.1 Strength and Weaknesses

5.2 Opportunities and Threat

6.0 Force Field Analysis

7.0 Achievement to Date

8.0 Conclusion

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List of Table

Table 1: Strength and Weakness Analysis

Table 2 :Opportunities and Threat Analysis

Table 3: Force Field Analysis

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List of Figures

Figure1: fishbone diagram

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1.0 Introduction

Private tuition has existed in Mauritius since more than a century. In fact , as far back as 1911, authorities in the Royal Colleges were deeply concerned about private tuition. The then acting Rector, W . A . Rüssel, had acknowledged "I quite admit the evil, but I am unable to suggest a satisfactory remedy". International Institute of Education Planning (1997) .

In a White Paper on Education which was published in 1984, government expressed its determination to find a solution to this problem. "Government is concerned at the abuse of private tuition, especially in the primary schools”

A study conducted by the University of Mauritius pointed out . thatprivate tuition is a multi-dimensional problem and that its solution will not be found within the confines of the Ministry of Education only

2.0 Scope of the Study

Although private tuition exist at all levels in our education system , this paper will look into private tuition in the primary education sector .

3.0 Methodology

The following methodology has been used to conduct this study

(a) Desk Research – Review of Master Plan on Education, articles on private tuition in journals and in the press

(b) Discussions with education experts, teachers, parents and other stake holders

(c) Literature review of tools and techniques such as Cause and Effect Diagram, SWOT analysis and Force Field theory

4.0 Using the Cause and Effect Diagram

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A Cause-and-Effect Diagram is a tool that helps identify, sort, and display possible causes of a specific problem . It graphically illustrates the relationship between a given outcome and all the factors that influence the outcome. This type of diagram is sometimes called an "Ishikawa diagram"because it was invented by Kaoru Ishikawa, or a "fishbone diagram" because of the way it looks. According to the model, the following antecedents are the causes of a problem

Methods Machines (equipment) People (manpower) Materials Measurement Environment

The fishbone diagram is illustrated

Figure1: fishbone diagram

The Cause and Effect framework has been used for this study. The problem is the prevalence of private tuition and the causes are people and the political and social environment in Mauritius

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4.1 People

People has been categorized as politicians , policy makers , parents , teachers , pupils and civil society

4.1.1 Parents

(i) Private tuition is accepted by about 70 per cent of parents and thatany solution to the problem had to take into account the diverse interestsinvolved.( The Private Costs of Education - University of Mauritius – 1988) .

(ii) The sensitization programme carried by the Ministry on the ill effect of private tuition has not been effective in view that it has not deterred parents from their funding of private tuition

(iii) Parent feel the amount of time devoted to classroom teaching is not enough for the child to succeed. Hence the need for private tuition

(iv) . Parents rarely enquire on what happens in schoo and assume that anything happen and that no proper teaching took place in the school. . Hence the need for private tuition

(v) There is a deep rooted fear among parents that their ward will be left out by the teacher in case they do not send their wards for private tuition

(v) Parent are either afraid or not interested to point out any deficiency in the present system, thus their inaction is perpetuating the existing system

(vi) Parent use private tuition because  they believe it to be a remedial measure to counter any deficiency in the system or in their ward

4.1.2 Experts

The experts have yet to find a solution to the problem which will be accepted by all parties . There is a lack of research on the topic in Mauritius

4.1.3 Teachers

Teachers see private tuition as an additional source of income

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4.1.4 The Student

Many students simply do not want to put in hard work during school hours and simply wish to ignore classroom teaching no matter how good it is . They prefer to attend private tuition

4.1.5 The Management of School

(a) Not much is being done in managing pedagogy in schools

(b) There is a general perception among management in many schools that they have simply to keep order and ensure that timetable is operational, teachers are in the classroom and the bell is rung at regular intervals.

© Many extra curricular activities and staff meetings are held during school hours hence the need for compensating the loss time through private tuition . More so, Management cannot force teachers to stay after class hour

4.2 The Political and Social Environment

(a) Historically in Mauritius we have a competitive society. As a nation , education is perceived as a gateway to progress and as an individual , education is the mean to climb the social ladder

(b) Access to good secondary schools is based on rank at the Certificateof Primary Examination , hence there is a fierce race among the pupils and their parents

© There is a shortage of good-standard secondary schools and since parents prefer to send their children to the best schools, they encourage/compel them to take tuition to obtain good results

(d) Private tuition is a controversial political issue in Mauritius. Election were lost on education issues. A. Jugnath loss the election on the question of reserved seat in confessional school and the inclusion of oriental language

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credit in the ranking system . The matter was even brought before the Privy Council

(e) . This matter is raised in Parliament and in the press regularly. There has been a lot of debate but no concrete solutions have been proposed to deal with the problem.

(f) Government has taken a number of measures to limit the abuses of private tuition and to minimize the harm that tuition might cause.

(g) Since access to good secondary schools are the main causes ofprivate tuition at primary level, the Master Plan had proposed as a long-termsolution the upgrading of existing private secondary schools. Not much has been achieved to date

(h) the Master Plan had proposed as a long-term solution of building a sufficient number of good state secondary schools in different regions of the country. . Not much has been achieved to date

(i) Teachers are allowed to give private tuition in the school compound , hence providing a much needed catalyst into the system

(j) The MRA though its inefficiency is allowing and perpetuating tax evasion by teachers

(j) Primary schools only open for six and a half hours on weekdays . This allow teachers to have sufficient time during week days and week end to give private tuition

5.0 Using SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses/Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The terms used in a SWOT have been defined as

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Strengths: characteristics of a business that give it an advantage over others Weaknesses (or Limitations) are characteristics that place a business at a disadvantage Opportunities: external chances to improve performance in the environment Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for a business

5.1 Strength and Weaknesses

The strength and the weaknesses of the present education system at primary level are given in the table below :

STRENGHT 1 In Mauritius, education is free. Hence greater accessibility to

all pupils irrespective of their social condition 2 The law has been amended and education is compulsory up to

16 years 3 There are primary schools scattered across the island and it is

easily accessible to pupils4 School holidays are accorded to the children to recuperate

and enjoy their holidays5 MIE provide further learning to teachers 6 Private tuition can certainly complement and supplement the

class work provided by the teacher

WEAKNESS 1 Mauritius education is free. It has a huge budgetary implication

(20 % of the Ministry Budget ) on Government 2 Parent feels that the amount of time devoted to classroom

teaching is not enough for the child to succeed. Hence the need for private tuition

3 Teachers are allowed to give private tuition in the school compound.

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4 Many teachers do not give their best during class hours but work long hours after school hours to give private tuition

5 The present system put a lot of strain on the pupil. Some even suffer a post trauma effect when they attend secondary school and some even lost interest in their studies

6 Our educational system is made in such a way that it favors the elite The ‘classés’ are rewarded by scholarships; the best C.P.E candidates are rewarded by reserved seats in National colleges,

7 Some teachers have found a way of making it a lucrative business by purposely creating a lack of knowledge in class so that what is missing is covered in tuitions

8 Teachers cram up the students more during holidays to justify the wages obtained from it.

9 No curriculum has been developed to solve this problem

10Tuition may lead to too much of pampering and may kill the self effort of the student.

12. Instead of his working and learning on his own, the pupil becomes dependant on the tuition master

13Education nowadays has become a mere stepping stone towards a better material life. It is not as broad and encompassing as life should be. Hence , there are a low focus on subject like moral values etc

14 In Mauritius, education is free. Hence , many well off families have extra extras to spend on tuition and even the low income family endure a lot of sacrifice to pay tuition for their children

Table 1: Strength and Weakness Analysis

5.2 Opportunities and Threat

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The opportunities and threat of the present system are given in the table below :

OPPORTUNITIES

1 Legislate to ban private tuition , hence eliminating a black economy . This law should be applicable to both the teachers and the parents

2 Increase the salaries of teachers 3 Increase teaching hours 4 Increase the school term period 5 Increase the qualification requirement of teachers and run

evening courses at the MIE , so that teachers will have reduced time to provide tuition

6 Make parent become more involved in the affairs of the school 7 Involve the Civil Society in the change process of eliminating

private tuition 8 Learn the experience from other countries 9 Arrange tutorial classes as a complementary as well as

supplementary. to normal teaching by the school; THREAT

1 Strike by teachers 2 Decrease in motivation among teachers 3 There is no consensus among the politician on the issue 4 Weak and short sighted politician i.e fear of losing votes and

election 5 Strong opposition from parents6 Weak and fragmented Civil Society

Table 2 :Opportunities and Threat Analysis

6.0 Force Field Analysis

Force field analysis is an influential development in the field of social science. It provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that influence a situation, . It looks at forces that are either driving movement

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toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces). The principle, developed by Kurt Lewin, is a significant contribution to the fields of social science, psychology, social psychology, organizational development, process management, and change management.

This model defines three stages in the process of change:(1) Unfreezing(2) Change(3) Refreezing

It assists organization change by:

Allowing the process to be understood Providing milestones for evaluating progress towards the change

The above framework is being used for this study

FORCE FOR CHANGE 1 The existence of a luring black economy and the resulting

loss to society . Government need to pass laws to get over the situation

2 The MRA is now target teachers in their net 3 There is a strong Prime Minister in Mauritius 4 There are some teachers who have a sheer passion for

teaching and helping students in difficulty in the class room .

FORCE AGAINST CHANGE 1 The teachers trade union are very strong and is influential in

Mauritius 2 There is a fear among politicians and political parties that any

move to ban private tuition will result in a loss of votes 3 People in Mauritius are introvert and individualistic 4 There are undoubtedly teachers out there with a mercenary

attitude towards educating young minds through private tuition.

5 In the Mauritian education system, private tuitions have

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become the norm ; they have existed for ages and will definitely stay in the system for many years to come.

6 Society at large that has contributed in making teaching and education the way it is today and it will take years to change society

7 Strong opposition from parents both individually and collectively

Table 3: Force Field Analysis

7.0 Achievement to Date

The measures which have been taken by Government include:

(a) Private tuition is prohibited for children in standards 1 –IV

(b) The syllabi of primary school and the C P E examinations have been revised and continuous assessment has been introduced;

© Subject teaching has been introduced at Standard IV in all primary schools;

(d) The number of hours of private tuition has been limited; and

(e) parents are being sensitized on the abuses of excessive private tuition

8.0 Conclusion

The Minister is trying to put a brake to this system but is he going to succeed? No way, as the demand is such that the pressure will come from parents and not from the teachers. But then, one may ask, so what do we do? Well, give equal opportunities to all children to attend 2 to 3 years of pre-primary education. Then we also have to get rid of this elitist system, where the best are rewarded at all levels of education. Oh, some will say that our elite will disappear. No the best will always remain the best whether they are rewarded or not, because their motivation are intrinsic. We cannot defy the law of statistics –there is bound to have high flyers and low achievers in any

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system . The big question is that whether private tuition is turning a low achiever into a high flyer. Need for more research work !

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Investing into the future: setting educational priorities in a developing world- Jacques Hallak - U N D P 1990 (Pergamon Press).

Master Plan for Education for the Year 2000 - Mauritius 1991.

Master Plan - 1993. Pre-requisites for Successful Implementation -A . Parsuramen.

Master Plan - Planning and Implementation - Prof. Bushan 1993.

Master Plan - Implementation Planning Consultancy ReportU N D P / U N E S C O - G . Pillay 1994.

Master Plan - National Education Council Report: Structure of theSecondary Education 1995.

Master Plan - Financing Education in Mauritius – An analysis of Costs andInternal Efficiency by Keith Lewin - 1993.

Master Plan - Operational Plan for Rationalisation and Development ofTertiary Education 1993.

The Private Costs of Education - University of Mauritius - 1988.

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MMATHOORAH is a expert in quality management . He can be contacted at mmathoorah@mail.gov.mu

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