Inspiring every child

Foreword

am pleased to present this policy document on Nine

Years of Continuous Basic Education, which is part of a
deep and comprehensive reform agenda long-awaited by
the nation at large.

HON. (Mrs) LEELA DEVI

DOOKUN-LUCHOOMUN

Minister

This major reform makes provision for all students to successfully complete nine years of basic schooling. It also
intends to make of the whole child development a reality.
Indeed, we want every learner emerging from the system
to be so inspired as to become a self-motivated individual,
an autonomous lifelong learner, a responsible citizen with
a strong value base and a productive contributor to society.

Unanimity today exists around the fact that the current system, with its intense competition, has resulted in a percentage of our children not being adequately literate or numerate
despite completing 6 years of primary schooling. Yet, paradoxically, it is vital for every learner to complete at least secondary schooling as a foundation for lifelong learning.
The Nine Years of Continuous Basic Education reform
which is built on six major pillars, namely, Curriculum
Change, Innovative Pedagogies, Meaningful Assessment,
Continuous Professional Development, Conducive Learning
Environment and System Governance and Accountability,
has been subject to a number of consultations with a wide
cross-section of stakeholders and other interested parties
in the education sector. These included different Unions,
PTAs, the Federation of Managers and other Managers of
private secondary schools as well as Members of the National
Assembly. Consultations had also taken place in Rodrigues
and the programme has been peer-reviewed by the World
Bank.
It is equally significant to remember that the main concept behind the reform is aligned with the Sustainable
Development Goal 4 which is that of ensuring inclusive and
equitable quality education for all and promoting lifelong
learning.
Hence, by being inclusive and equitable, the new system
takes into consideration the development of knowledge, certainly, but also of skills and values - in itself a cardinal necessity for sustainable development.
As Minister of Education concerned about the present and
future wellbeing of our learners, I will continue to invest my
efforts in their education and training. My Ministry will also
create stimulating learning environments in which all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
For we owe it to our children.
Inspiring every child

Table of Contents
1.0 Rationale for the NYCBE Reform ................................................................. 1
1.1 The International Context ................................................................................ 5
2.0 The Desired Outcomes of Education ........................................................ 6
2.1 Overall Goals of NYCBE ................................................................................... 7
2.2 Specific Objectives of the NYCBE .................................................................. 8
3.0 NYCBE: Making it happen! ................................................................................ 9
3.1 Six Fundamental Pillars of the NYCBE ......................................................... 10

3.1.1 Pillar 1: Curricular change .................................................................... 10

3.1.2 Pillar 2: Innovative Pedagogies ............................................................. 11

3.1.3 Pillar 3: Assessment ................................................................................ 11

3.1.4 Pillar 4: Continuous Professional Development .............................. 11

3.1.5 Pillar 5: The Learning Environment...................................................... 13

3.1.6 Pillar 6: System Governance and Accountability ............................. 14
3.2 Technical and Vocational Education and Training.......................................... 14
4.0 The Outcomes of the NYCBE Reform ...................................................... 16
5.0 Implementing the NYCBE Reform ..............................................................
5.1 The New Education Structure ........................................................................
5.2 The Curriculum Framework for Basic Education .......................................

5.2.1 Core & Non-Core Learning Areas .....................................................

5.2.2 Curriculum in the Extended Four-Year Cycle .................................

5.2.3 Early Support Programme ....................................................................
5.3 Continuous Professional Development for Increased Learning
Effectiveness .........................................................................................................

18
19
22
22
24
24
25

6.0 The Assessment Framework .......................................................................... 26

6.1 National Assessments of Learning at Key Stages ........................................ 26

6.1.1 Key Stage 1: Primary School Readiness at beginning of Grade 1 . 26

6.1.2 Key Stage 2: Diagnostic Assessment at beginning of Grade 3 ..... 26

6.1.3 Key Stage 3: Assessment at end of Grade 6:
Primary School Achievement Certificate ........................................... 27

6.1.4 Key Stage 4: Assessment at end of Grade 9:
National Certificate of Education ....................................................... 27

6.1.5 Key Stage 5: Assessment at end of Grade 11.................................... 27

6.1.6 Key Stage 6: Assessment at the end of Grade 13............................ 28
Inspiring every child

Table of Contents
7.0 Modalities for the Lead-up to the Award of the Primary School
Achievement Certificate and the National Certificate of Education .
7.1 The Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) ..............................

7.1.1 Introducing a Modular Approach to Assessment ............................

7.1.2 The Grading System ..............................................................................
7.2 The National Certificate of Education (NCE) .............................................

7.2.1 Learning Areas / Subjects to be assessed .........................................

7.2.2 The Grading System................................................................................

29
29
30
31
32
33
33

Progression of students across the System ..........................................

8.1 Entry in Secondary Schools .............................................................................
8.2 Criteria for Admission to Regional Secondary Schools ............................
8.3 Academies ...........................................................................................................
8.4 Extended stream .................................................................................................
8.5 Vocational Training Centres .............................................................................

34
34
34
35
35
35

9.0 Institutional Arrangements for Post-Basic Education ..................

9.1 Academies ............................................................................................................
9.2 Polytechnics .........................................................................................................

9.2.1 Pathways to Polytechnics ......................................................................

36
36
37
37

8.0

10.0 System Governance and Accountability ................................................. 38

11.0 Managing the Transition ....................................................................................
11.1 Synoptic presentation of transitional arrangements....................................
11.2 Implementing the Transition .............................................................................

11.2.1 Administrative Arrangements................................................................

40
41
42
42

12.0 Strategic Framework for implementing NYCBE Reform ............ 43

13.0 Implementation Plan............................................................................................. 47

Inspiring every child

List of Acronyms
BEAP
Basic Education for Africa Programme
CPD
Continuous Professional Development
CPE
Certificate of Primary Education
ECD
Early Childhood Development
ECE
Early Childhood Education
ECCE
Early Childhood Care and Education
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
HEP
Holistic Education Programme
HQ Headquarters
HSC
Higher School Certificate

ICT
Information and Communication Technology
ISCED International Standard Classification of Education
LDP
Learner Development Profile
MES
Mauritius Examinations Syndicate

MIE
Mauritius Institute of Education
NCE
National Certificate of Education
NCF National Curriculum Framework
NGO Non-Government Organisation
NQF
National Qualifications Framework
NYCBE
Nine Year Continuous Basic Education
NYS
Nine Year Schooling
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
PSAC Primary School Achievement Certificate
QAID Quality Assurance and Inspectorate Division
SBA
School-based Assessment
SBIT
School-based In-service Training

SC
School Certificate
SME
Science, Math and English
TVET
Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UN
United Nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

Inspiring every child

Section 1
NYCBE: Situating the Context
1.0 Rationale for the NYCBE Reform

Government presented to the nation

its vision for a new Mauritius, one
based on the countrys transformation
into a truly forward looking, environmentally sustainable, economically vibrant and innovative country
with modern infrastructure, global
connectivity, high skills and technology (Government Programme 20152019). This vision was more explicitly presented in the Governments
Economic Mission Statement that of
making Mauritius attain high income
country status by 2030.
Achieving this goal will require an
economic model of development that
is socially inclusive and that will
be driven by knowledge, technology and innovation. In this model,
the higher education sector is called
upon to emerge as a strong pillar
supporting an economy with robust
growth. However, the supply of highly-skilled human resource to achieve

Vision 2030 will require reforms that

will contribute to improving the quality and relevance of the current education and training system.
The focus will thus have to be on
(i) 
enhancing the quality of basic
education - low standards of
which being the root cause of
unskilled labour, unemployment
and rising inequality, and
(ii) improving access and relevance
to TVET, including Polytechnic
Education, and higher education
programmes aligned to the economic needs of the country.
Moreover, todays education system
is called upon to prepare our youth
for a society increasingly dominated
by an accelerated pace of technology-inspired change, coupled with
new challenges and uncertainties.
Inspiring every child

ures a statistically
owth of real GDP
gure 4). Accordation, test scores
andard deviation
t level across all
A) are associated
owth rate in GDP
ercentage points
year period.
ality (to a model
ncome and years
e share of variaexplained from
y of schooling is
ated to economic
hat neglects edusociation between
wth turns insignife to zero once the
uded in the model
).20 The same patwhen any variaegions is ignored.
the variation just
ational quality is
nomic growth.
e determinants of
es the importance
work of the econnd powerful meaamework used in
nness of the econand the security
two institutional
signicant when
e positive effect of
onomic growth is
of these controls,
e to 1.26.
nants of economic
the literature are

The requirements of the 21st Century

workplace will consequently no longer be on the basis of what new
recruits know but more likely on
what they can do with what they
know.

In fact, a significant proportion of

children fails to acquire a minimum
level of learning achievement, with
a high percentage of 15 year olds not
reaching the international threshold
of basic skills level. This has resulted
in Mauritius not comparing favourably with its peer upper middle
income countries.

Hence, while literacy and numeracy

skills remain important, these will no
longer be sufficient. Our education
system needs to develop a generation
It is a well-known fact that the
of young adults equipped with the national wealth of a country is closely
right knowledge, skills, attitude and EDUCATION
associated
toAND
theECONOMIC
skills GROWTH
level of its
QUALITY
7
values and with the following core workforce. There is a growing body
competencies: critical thinking skills, of knowledge from international stuthe test-score measure features a statistically Figure 4 Test scores, as opposed to years of schooling, have a powerful impact on growth
adaptability
and
creativity,
dent assessments that reflects the link
signicant effect on
the growth
of real GDPability to
a. Impact of test scores on economic growth
per capita
in 19602000 (gure 4).good
Accord- commuwork
collaboratively,
Conditional growth between test scores and economic
4
ing to this simple specication, test scores
nications
skills and fluency in ICT.
growth. The better the performance,
that are larger by one standard deviation
the higher the gains in terms of eco3
(measured at the student level across all
OECD countriesreports
in PISA) arehave
associatedover the
Different
nomic prosperity1. The number of
2
with an average annual growth rate in GDP
years
highlighted
some points
of the inher- years of schooling is seen to have
per capita
that is two percentage
1
over the whole 40-year
period.
enthigher
weaknesses
of the
current system
little impact on economic growth as
Adding educational quality (to a model
of that
education.
Briefly
put,
it
is
noticeit does not necessarily guarantee that
0
just includes initial income and years
able
that, while
learning has effectively taken place
of schooling)
increases there
the share is
of near
varia- univer1
in economic growth
from
saltionenrolment
at explained
both pre-primary
(Figure 1). This proves that quantity
25% to 73%. The quantity of schooling is
and
primary
levels,
alone is not sufficient but it is the
2
statistically
signicantly
relateda
to high
economictransition
growth
a speci
cation that neglects
edu-and genrate
to inthe
secondary
level
quality of learning that contributes to
3
quality, but the association between
dercational
parity
in
school
enrolment,
there
economic growth.
years of schooling and growth turns insignifEDUCATION QUALITY
AND
ECONOMIC
GROWTH
7
is icant
a gap
in
so far
asto zero
pupil
learning
is
4
and is
reduced
to close
once the
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
quality of education is included in the model
concerned.
Conditional test score
20
SGP

TWN

HKG

THA
PRT

CYP
TUN

USA
IDN

MAR

NOR

BRA

CHL
ARG

ZAF

PER

(see the bottom of gure 4). The same pat-

Figure 4

Test scores, as opposed to yearstern

of schooling,
have
powerful impact
growth
of results
is apreserved
whenonany
varia-

MEX
ISR

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GHA

URY
COL

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CHE
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EGY
AUS SWE NLD IRN
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JOR

PHL

coef  1.9804387, se  .21707105, t  9.12

a. Impact of
test scores
economic
b. Impact of years of schooling on economic growth
tionon
between
ve growth
world regions is ignored.
a. Impact of test scores on economic growth
b. Impact of years of schooling on economic growth
So even when considering the variation just
Conditional growth
Conditional growth
within each region, educational quality is
4
2
signicantly related to economic
SGP growth.
SGP
3
Recent literature on the determinants
of
TWN
economic growth emphasizes the importance
CYP
MAR
ZAF
2
of the institutional HKG
framework
of the econKOR
USA BRA
1
TWN
TUN
HKG
omy. The most common
and powerful meaTHA
PRT
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1
THA
suresCYP
of the institutional
framework
used in
PRT
TUN
KOR
NOR
USA
PER
IRL ITA ISL FIN MYS
IRL
CHE
empirical
work
are
the
openness
of
the
econIDN
FRA
DNK
DNK CAN ESP BEL
CHL
CHE
EGY NLD IRN
MAR
ITA
NOR
AUS
CAN
0
ARG
SWE
ISL
omy GRC
to international
trade and the security
IND
0
BRA
TUR AUT
GRC
MEX ESP
GBR JPN
AUS
ISR
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of property
rights. These two institutional
EGY
MEX
GBR
JPN
NZL
BEL
AUT
TUR MYS FIN
ISR
NLD
1
variables
are jointly highly signicant when
FRA
URY
ROM
CHL
CHN
PHL
COL
ARG
ZAF
ROM
NZL
JOR model. But the positive effect of
added
to the
ZWE
IND
IRN
COL
GHA
URY
2
educational quality on economic growth is
1
GHA
PER
PHL
ZWE
very robust to the inclusion of these controls,
3
albeit reduced in magnitude to 1.26.
Other possible determinants of economic
JOR
4
growth often discussed in the literature are
2
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
4
3
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
fertility and geography. But when the total
Conditional test score
Conditional years of schooling
fertility rate and common geographical proxcoef  1.9804387, se  .21707105, t  9.12
coef  .0264058, se  .07839797, t  .34
ies, such as latitude or the fraction of the land
Figure
1: Impact
of
test scores and years of schooling on economic growth
locatedonwithin
thegrowth
geographic tropics, are
Source: Hanushek and Wmann (2007).
b. Impact of yearsarea
of schooling
economic
Note: These are added-variable plots of a regression of the average annual rate of growth (in percent) of real GDP
added to the model, neither is statistically sigConditional growth
per capita in 19602000 on the initial level of real GDP per capita in 1960, average test scores on international student
2
achievement tests, and average years of schooling in 1960.
nicantly associated with economic growth.
ARG  Argentina, AUS  Australia, AUT  Austria, BEL  Belgium, BRA  Brazil, CAN  Canada, CHE 
An important issue is whether the role
Switzerland, CHL  Chile, CHN  China, COL  Colombia, CYP  Cyprus, DNK  Denmark, EGY  Arab Rep. of Egypt,
SGP
ESP  Spain, FIN  Finland, FRA  France, GBR  United Kingdom, GHA  Ghana, GRC  Greece, HKG  Hong Kong
of educational quality in economic devel(China), IDN  Indonesia, IND  India, IRL  Ireland, IRN  Islamic Rep. of Iran, ISL  Iceland, ISR  Israel, ITA 
opment differs CYPbetween developing and
Italy, JOR  Jordan, JPN  Japan, KOR  Rep. of Korea, MAR  Morocco, MEX  Mexico, MYS  Malaysia, NLD 
MAR
ZAF
Netherlands, NOR  Norway, NZL  New Zealand, PER  Peru, PHL  Philippines, PRT  Portugal, ROM  Romania,
USA BRA countries. But results are remark1
developed
TWN
TUN
SGP  Singapore, SWE  Sweden, THA  Thailand, TUN  Tunisia, TUR  Turkey, TWN  Taiwan, URY  Uruguay,
HKG
USA  United States, ZAF  South Africa, and ZWE  Zimbabwe.
ably
similar
when
comparing
the
sample
IDN
THA

PRT

ISL

CHE
ITA

KOR

IRL

DNK
CAN ARG
GRC
MEX ESP
AUS
SWE
GBR
BEL
AUT
NLD

NOR

PER
CHL

Inspiring
EGY every child
TUR

MYS
FIN
FRA

CHN
IRN

NZL

IND

URY

1

COL
GHA
ZWE

JOR

ISR

PHL

JPN
ROM

Mauritius is still wrestling with

issues that were raised many years
ago the salient one being the
excessive competition generated at
the Certificate of Primary Education
(CPE) examinations that distorts
the sub-sector, distracts attention
from the school-supported overall development of the children,
brands for life some learners as
failures and hence marginalises a
significant proportion of our future
human resources.
Equally, while the international
trend has been to shift vocational
education to the upper secondary
level, CPE failures have been canalized to pre-vocational education

that does not guarantee a solid foundation for future learning.

Again, despite much evolution in
the TVET sector, it still suffers from
the stigma of a track fit for the academically less able.
The system now faces a growing
demand for a major improvement
in learner performance and learning
outcomes.
What is needed is a comprehensive
basic education that rids the system
of barriers that hamper smooth progression to higher levels of learning
and provides all students with the
opportunity to acquire the relevant

UNESCOs Basic Education for Africa Program ( BEAP) has this to say:
Instead of equipping a narrowly selected elite for further academic education, the role ascribed to basic
education becomes that of preparing an entire age group for integration into adult society (life skills, key
competencies and citizenship education), into the world of work (core generic skills) and for further studies as applicable in a general perspective of lifelong learning (learnability). There is also a need to accommodate problem-solving skills, civic and citizenship education, team work and ICT within the curriculum,
as well as international language mastery, and math and science skills.

Inspiring every child

set of knowledge and skills and attitudes that will guarantee success in
future education and, later, in their
professional lives.
The Nine Year Continuous Basic
Education (NYCBE)2 (also commonly
referred to as the Nine Year Schooling
- NYS) is part of a whole set of reforms
aimed at strategically transforming
the education system.
Thus, it addresses the distortion of
learning that has become commonplace in the system. It eliminates the
instrument that breeds the current
unhealthy competition at an early
age (A+ Grade as a determinant for
entry in National Colleges) and posits
the transformation of perceived elite
4
Inspiring every child

secondary institutions into Upper

Secondary institutions.
Hence, in the name of equity, the
NYCBE makes provision for all students to complete nine years of basic
schooling that allows them a choice
among multiple pathways for their
progression through the system.
The NYCBE will ensure that all youth
reach at least the basic skills level as
per international benchmark by 2030.
The economic stakes of raising learning
outcomes under the NYCBE reform are
high for Mauritius by virtue of the latters direct positive impact on economic
growth. This is an ambitious but feasible target. Raising learning outcomes is
thus an urgent priority for the country.

1.1 The International Context

The provision of Nine Year
Continuous Basic Education is in line
with the international commitment
to the UN Sustainable Development
Goals, more specifically, Goal 4 on
Education which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all.
International commitment has also
been taken to achieve the targets of
Education 2030, one of which is to
ensure the provision of 12 years

of free, publicly funded, equitable

quality primary and secondary education, of which at least nine years
are compulsory, leading to relevant
learning outcomes.3
The NYCBE is not a new concept.
Deeply concerned about the quality
of their schooling, many highly developed countries have the equivalent of
a 9 to 10 year basic education cycle
where a common core curriculum
is offered to all children during this
stage. These countries have replaced
traditional high-stake selective examinations (that restrict progress from
primary to lower secondary education) by criterion-based learning
assessments nationally designed
or internationally comparable.
Such a system also postpones
the channeling of students
toward vocational courses
until completion of basic
education.
For Mauritius, this
concept is not in contradiction with the
policy of compulsory
education till age 16.
A student will legally
not leave the education system before the
age of 16 which theoretically corresponds to
eleven years of schooling.
The first nine years of these
will be the continuous basic
education cycle that lays down
a solid foundation for success at
the end of the compulsory education period and beyond.

Inspiring every child

Section 2
2.0 The Desired Outcomes of Education

Central to the reforms

in the Mauritian
Education and Training
system is the inalienable
concern for sustainability. The person emerging
from this system will
be capable of living a
fulfilled life as an individual, but also aware of
her future role as a citizen and living up to the
variegated responsibilities arising therefrom.
The expectation accordingly is that the young
adult emerges from the
new education system as

a socially and emotionally well-balanced and self-motivated individual with a heightened sense of integrity
and self-respect, an autonomous lifelong learner confident in the use of all accumulated knowledge and in
engaging in new ways of creative and critical thinking,
thereby acting as a change agent.

an informed and empowered citizen endowed with the

right attitudes and values for sound and healthy living in diversified multicultural settings and societies,
whether in Mauritius or outside, shows appurtenance
to and concern for the community, assumes a staunch
stewardship of the environment and is an upholder of
values and beliefs intrinsic to a democratic way of life.

a productive contributor to society, demonstrates aptly

the ability to work with new tools, communicates
effectively, works collaboratively in teams and has the
resilience to adapt to constantly evolving work and
social environments and an effective and resourceful
participant in the global economy.
6
Inspiring every child

2.1 Overall Goals of NYCBE

The NYCBE reform has both quantitative and qualitative goals.
In the current system, some students
drop out during the early years of
secondary education, with typically
an estimated 28 percent of pre-vocational students failing to make it to
the end of that programme.
The quantitative goal therefore is to
ensure that all children successfully
complete the basic education cycle
and then move on to upper secondary via different pathways general,
vocational, or technical. This would
then open avenues leading to further
and tertiary education.

The qualitative goal of NYCBE is to

equip students with relevant skills
and improve learning outcomes for
all. This is, in fact, a more challenging
goal than simply expanding coverage, especially in light of current low
levels of achievement.
The overall goals of NYCBE reform
can thus be summarized as ensuring
that ALL of our children
1. c omplete 9 years of quality basic
education and achieve relevant
learning outcomes; and
2. s uccessfully complete the secondary education cycle, whether
General or Technical.

Inspiring every child

2.2 Specific Objectives of the NYCBE

The Nine Year Continuous Basic
Education is grounded in a holistic philosophy that emphasizes both
greater equity and equality of learning opportunities to all students for
them to unlock their true potential,
regardless of geographical location or
socio-economic background.
This applies equally to student segments within the school-going population with specific needs, both cognitive and impairment-related, who
require even more support.
The specific objectives of the NYCBE
are accordingly to
1. 
Equip all students with knowledge, foundational skills and attitudes that will guarantee success
to all in their future learning. This
has to start right from the early
childhood phase.

8
Inspiring every child

2. Inculcate in all students a set of

of values and a strong sense of
moral responsibility and belonging to the country.
3. Promote the holistic and integral
development of learners.
4. Provide learning opportunities to
all students, including those with
special education needs, for them
to attain high levels of achievement according to their abilities
and strengths.
5. 
Achieve a smooth transition to
and completion of secondary
education.
6. 
Give greater recognition to the
value of TVET in building human
capital that will spearhead the
transformation of the Republic
into a knowledge-based, skillsdriven economy.

Section 3
3.0 NYCBE : Making it happen

The Nine Year Continuous Basic Education reform adopts

a systemic and holistic approach to the transformation of
the education system. More specifically, there are six driving forces that are essential to the emergence of a better
learning system. Mutually supportive and inter-related,
these forces have to be mobilised and factored in concurrently so as to have the desired impact on the teaching and
learning process.
Thus, the NYCBE reform agenda rests on a careful alignment of 6 fundamental pillars, namely,
Curricular Change
Innovative Pedagogies
Assessment
Continuous Professional Development
Learning Environment
System Governance and Accountability
Inspiring every child

3.1 Six Fundamental Pillars

3.1.1 Pillar 1:
Curricular Change
The curriculum as the instrument
that translates desired outcomes of
education into school programmes
will be so designed as to be comprehensive and well-balanced, spanning
over nine years of study to ensure
continuity in learning.
Because all children have to be supported in their acquisition of basic
competencies, the curriculum will
recognize and accommodate the
diversity in learner abilities, aptitudes
and interest and also make space for
learners needing special support.
All learners will follow the same
curriculum over the nine year
period.

10
Inspiring every child

As importantly, the curriculum will

provide for learning experiences that
cater for the holistic
development of learners. These will
enhance their creative and expressive capacities as well as their social
and emotional well-being. They will
equally shape their personal and
social identity while reinforcing a
strong sense of civic responsibility,
entrepreneurship skills, environmental awareness and developing the
spirit of teamwork and instil the
value of excellence.
Greater emphasis will be laid on the
acquisition of higher order skills that
are at the core of problem-solving
and critical thinking capabilities.
The Curriculum will establish learning standards to be achieved at each
grade level against which learning
outcomes will be assessed.

3.1.2 Pillar 2:
Innovative Pedagogies

of assessments will henceforth be at

the core of teaching and learning.

Implementing the NYCBE will

require innovative pedagogical
approaches where teaching is curriculum-driven and not assessmentdriven, as is currently the case. In
the name of equity, pedagogies will
have to respond to diverse learners
and their diverse learning needs and
paces.

To reduce over-emphasis on examinations, a system of continuous

assessment for formative purposes
and school-based assessment (SBA)
to complement end-of-year assessment will be introduced.

Teaching strategies will shift from the

directive to learner-centered ones,
such that learners get to be engaged
in the learning process, become selfdirected and autonomous and are
involved in active and collaborative
learning.
Also, at a time when technology
and e-learning resources have
already made their way into schools,
IT-mediated learning will increasingly become the enabler for heightened learner curiosity and enhanced
independent learning.

3.1.3 Pillar 3: Assessment

There is universal recognition of the
potential for classroom assessment
to influence learning and to allow
teachers to evaluate whether learning has (or has not) taken place.
The students level of knowledge,
skill or achievement can thus be
soundly gauged for relevant and intime remediation, where and when
necessary.
High stake testing and examinations
that characterise the system at present create undue stress on learners.
A wide range of alternative modes

A modular approach to assessment

will also be introduced in the system
with a view to reducing examination pressure arising out of the traditional one-off form of assessment.

3.1.4 Pillar 4:
Continuous Professional
Development
Teachers are the most important
within-school factor that can directly
improve learner achievement. The
international evidence is clear that,
at the heart of what works in the
classroom is the effective teacher.
Qualifications matter but are not a
sufficient criterion of teacher effectiveness as evidenced by the differences between teachers despite them
being well qualified.
Educators hence need to be prepared
to deliver the curriculum effectively.
They must be empowered to cope
with students learning demands,
step into the digital learning environment with confidence, embed
21st century knowledge and skills
in their practice, adopt new assessment strategies and respond to their
changing role and responsibilities as
society evolves. Such empowerment
comes by way of continuous training, support, provision of relevant
materials and positive learning envi-

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11

ronment for them to address both

the cognitive and affective needs of
learners.

across schools, the development of a

community of practice, mentoring,
and the like.

Evidence also shows that highperforming school systems use a

panoply of measures to strengthen
the pedagogical capabilities of teachers, including through collaborative
practices among teachers within and

Major steps will be taken to improve

the quality of teaching by strengthening the professional development
of teachers. The aim is to foster a
culture of learning among teachers
as a professional ethic.

12
Inspiring every child

3.1.5 Pillar 5:
The Learning Environment
The learning environment is a key
component to support the reform
initiative. Physical infrastructure is
crucial, but the learning environment
goes beyond the bricks and mortar.
The presence in schools of new technologies that support innovative pedagogies and actively engage students
in their learning has become undisputable. These technologies redefine
classroom boundaries and connect
students globally through interactive
learning platforms.
In addition, the learning environment
must support the emotional, social
and physical well-being of learners.

Such an environment is at once an

enabler and a motivator for teachers
and learners to engage in pedagogical
flexibility and collaborative learning
respectively, with a suitable backup in
terms of resources, including e-learning materials.
Further, in view of the natural demographic change with its downward
trend, school population is also on the
decline. Currently, school population
has been officially capped at a maximum of 1,400 per secondary school.
This ceiling is called upon to be further
lowered to 1100 in the medium term.
Reduced class sizes will become the
norm, resulting in a positive impact
on learning environment and teaching-learning transactions.
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13

3.1.6 Pillar 6:
System Governance
and Accountability
The major underlying principle
behind the successful implementation
of the NYCBE-student learningwill
require a greater degree of accountability from the education system as
a whole.
This necessitates a clear definition of
roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders at all levels, starting from
Ministry HQs and parastatals through
the Zone Directorates to the Schools.
But not only: every person in the
system has to be held accountable for
accomplishing her assigned task.
However, todays reality demonstrates
that publicly-funded schools are not
directly accountable to their clients,
i.e., the students and their parents.
Hence, accountability for student
learning has to be increasingly made
to shift to schools in short, closest to
the place where learning takes place.
This will have implications in terms
of clear policy goals at different levels:

(i) Effectiveness in educational delivery is best ensured through a

greater degree of autonomy to
schools. With more responsibility
for academic outcomes, schools will
consequently have more management discretion to introduce new
methods of teaching and learning,
sometimes collaboratively with
other schools in their Zones.
(ii) 
Wide scale institutional reform
and pedagogic change will equally
require a greater degree of devolution to the Zones.
(iii) 
The institutionalization of an
inbuilt system of monitoring and
evaluation will have to become an
inescapable corollary to programmatic and organizational reform.
Enforcing greater accountability at
the level of the different Units within
the education system becomes then
an imperative and a pre-requisite so
as to deliver on the 15-year horizon
drawn in the Governments Vision
2030 and on the 2030 Global Goal on
Education universally adhered to by
the international community.

3.2 Technical and Vocational Education and Training

The introduction of the nine year
continuous basic education will
lay a strong foundation for all further learning. This will be a systemic reform that will cater for the
diverse interests and learning needs
of all children and help prepare and
empower students for the changing
economic landscape..
Technical and Vocational Education
& Training (TVET) has an important
14
Inspiring every child

role in the reform process. Evidence

from most industrialized countries
has shown the extent to which TVET
has helped produce the skilled workforce that underpins industry and
boosts economic growth. However,
in Mauritius, despite its proven relevance to employment and the high
priority policy status, it fails to attract
talented students and is viewed as
playing second fiddle to General
Education..

This trend has to be reversed.

Entry to TVET will hence be delayed
until after the end of basic education
(with the elimination of pre-vocational
education).
Again, vocational courses will be
run in training centres that will have
their infrastructure modernized and
equipped with state-of-the-art technology. This stream will be able to
hold its own and attract learners
to such vocational programmes on
their own merit. It will also open
the pathway for trainees to move on
to Polytechnic education.
In addition to addressing the
need for new infrastructure and
the elaboration of more relevant
curricula, its provision will be
expanded to allow greater numbers

of youth to take advantage of its

benefits. With technical education
being jointly delivered with general
education in secondary schools,
it will be an attractive educational
option providing a viable pathway
for the acquisition of skills and
competencies.
This will also lead to the expansion
and upgrading of TVET while closer
attention will be paid to restructuring the connection between secondary and further education.
Learning pathways will thus be
established with articulation of
TVET with secondary and tertiary
education along with the introduction of Polytechnics. The goal is to
have TVET recognised as a prestigious mode of learning capable of
attracting quality trainees.
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15

Section 4
4.0 The Outcomes of the NYCBE Reform
The far-reaching impact of education reforms can only be felt in the
medium to long term. Similarly, the
outcomes of the NYCBE are defined
here keeping in view that the results
that will emerge from its implemen-

tation will not be immediately measurable. These will require a time

span of some 15 years to present a
realistic picture of the achievement
levels and standards learners will
have achieved.

The Outcomes defined in broad terms are the following:

u All learners leaving the pre-primary sector are ready for a sound
primary school experience.
u All children complete the NYCBE and have the foundational skills
and attitudes for upper secondary schooling.
Universal Secondary education is achieved with all students
u
completing secondary education leading to relevant and effective
learning outcomes. Schools are successful in providing a fulsome
education for an enhanced all-round and holistic development and
all learners acquire the appropriate knowledge, skills and values.
u The system successfully attracts many of the best and highly qualified graduates to the teaching profession.
All schools are accountable for student learning as per clearly
u
defined criteria/ parameters
u All graduates emerging from the TVET stream are highly skilled
and ready for employment.
u There is a two-fold increase in the percentage of the cohort that
pursues post-secondary education.

16
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DESIRED OUTCOMES

STRATEGY

INDICATOR

Early Childhood Education

 ompulsory one year

uC
pre-primary education

uC
 hildren with enriched preschool
experience and confidence for
future learning.

u Professionalisation
of the ECE sector

All children
ready for
Primary School

Basic Education (9 years)

u E arly Support Programme

for early intervention

u Well-rounded individuals
uR
 eadiness for next stage of
differentiated education
(general/technical/vocational)

u Improved
pedagogy

All children
achieve national
standards of
learning

u Adapted interventions for

children with special needs
uH
 olistic education
u Institutionalisation of new
assessments for meaningful
learning
u E limination of PreVocational
stream
u E xtended stream for lowability students
u Increased autonomy to
Zone Directorates and
Schools

Upper Secondary/
Technical Education
 niversalisation of secondary
uU
education
u S tudents with essential abilities
for progressing along their chosen
career path
u S tudents developing as global
citizens
uR
 evalorised and attractive
TVET sector

uB
 roadening of curriculum
for greater relevance to
21st Century realities

u Improved
learning outcomes for all

u S ustaining holistic education u Highly

skilled TVET
u Academies for Excellence in
graduates
Education
ready for
uM
 aking TVET an attractive,
labour
opted-for pathway
market
uP
 olytechnic education
uR
 egional scholarships
Well-rounded and responsible citizens,
equipped with the knowledge, skills and
right attitudes for further education and
future employment and driving Mauritius
vision for national development
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17

Section 5
NYCBE: Implementation Process
5.0 Implementing the NYCBE Reform

In keeping with the International

Standard Classification of Education
(ISCED), basic education, which corresponds to the first 9 years of formal
schooling, is made up of two levels.
Level 1 corresponds to the first six years
of primary schooling while the remaining three years (Level 2) correspond
to lower secondary education (where
teaching is more subject-focused,
requiring specialized teachers).

u The first six years of basic education (Grades 4 1-6) will be taught in
primary schools.

u The last three years of basic education (Grades 7-9) will be taught in
secondary schools and correspond
to lower secondary education.

u Grades 10-11 will be taught in secondary schools.

u
Grades 12-13 will be taught in
secondary schools.

4 Change in terminology: Standards will henceforth be replaced by Grades.

18
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5.1 The New Education Structure

To implement the Nine Year Schooling system, a new Education Structure has
been elaborated as per the following stages:

Early Childhood Care

and Education - duration
2 years (ages 3-4 years).

Post Basic Education/

Upper Secondary duration 4 years
(ages 14-18 years).

Basic Education duration 9 years

(ages 5-14 years).
 ost-Secondary and
P
Higher Education:
duration at least two
years (above 18 years).

The pictogram overleaf clarifies the framework further.

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19

New Education Structure

NQF
Level 1

NQF
Level 2

NQF
Level 3

HSC/GCE
A Level

SC (General)

National
Certificate of
Education

Primary
School
Readiness

Primary
School
Achievement
Certificate
Basic
Education
Primary
Education

Basic
Education
Lower Secondary
Education

20
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Academies

Academies

Upper
Secondary

Upper
Secondary

General
Education

General
Education

GCE /OLevel /
SC(General /
Technical)

HSC / GCE
A Level

Regional
Secondary
Schools

Regional
Secondary
Schools

Upper
Secondary

Upper
Secondary

General/Technical
Education

General
Education

NQF
Level 4

Vocational
Qualifications
NC 4
NC 5
Vocational
Training
Centres

Early
Childhood
Education

PP1 - PP2

NQF
Level 5

TVET
Training
Centres

Vocational
Education
Grade 1 - 6
(Std I - VI)

Grade 7 - 9
(Form I - III)

Grade 10 - 11
(Form IV - V)

Grade 12-13
(Form L VI - U VI)

NQF
Level 6

The NYCBE is premised on the necessity to ensure a seamless progression

of learners across the levels. Thus, all
children entering primary will, after
six years of study, move on for three
years of Lower Secondary education
and hence complete the nine year
cycle of basic education.

NQF
Level 7

Tertiary
Education
Institutions

From there onwards, new pathways

and opportunities will be open to
them: learners will opt to pursue
their secondary schooling in either
general or technical education. The
new system places a value-adding
dimension to technical education so
that its traditional image as a track
fit for the academically less able is
done away with.

Tertiary
Education

Labour
Market

Polytechnics
Diploma
Courses

A strong technical stream in secondary schools will encourage its

uptake by choice and not by default.
Pathways are also established that
will lead to post-secondary and
higher education.

TVET
Training Centres
Advanced
Diploma

TVET
Training Centres
Diploma
Courses

Key
Pathway

Qualifications

Labour Market

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21

5.2 The Curriculum Framework for Basic Education

A comprehensive and well-balanced
curriculum, spanning over 9 years of
schooling will be so designed as to

ities and shaping their personal and

social identity; and

ensure continuity in learning;

cater for those learners needing special support.

make space for the holistic development of learners through enhancing

their creative and expressive capac-

This new Curriculum will comprise

a mix of cognitive and non-cognitive learning domains.

5.2.1 Core & Non-Core Learning Areas

Curriculum for Grades 1-9
u At Grades 1-6, the curriculum will
henceforth comprise core and noncore learning areas
l

22
Inspiring every child

Core learning areas: English,

French, Math, Science, History
& Geography and
Asian
languages/ Arabic /Kreol
Morisien

 Non-core
learning
areas:
Physical Education, Civic and
Values Education, IT Skills,
Communication Skills and the
Arts including Music, Dance,
Painting, and Drama etc. Other
areas will be introduced as per
felt needs.

 The Arts will be taught by

Resource Persons/Specialist
teachers.
 A set of planned co-curricular
activities will be an integral part
of the curriculum.

To reflect the overall development

of learners, pupils will be assessed
in both core and non-core subjects/
learning areas.

u The last three years of the basic

education cycle (Grades 7-9),

equivalent to the lower second-

ary education cycle, will expose

students to a wide spectrum of
learning experiences to prepare
them for:
l

their holistic and integral development;

the start of their adolescence on
a sound basis;

a smooth transition to upper
secondary education; and
defining the appropriate orientation choices at upper secondary.

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23

5.2.2 Curriculum in the Extended Four-Year Cycle

Greater flexibility in the curriculum
at Lower Secondary will make space
for accommodating students of different abilities, aptitudes and with
different learning paces.
Students with learning difficulties
will hence follow an extended four-

year cycle and in smaller class sizes,

thereby allowing them more time to
develop the essential competencies of
basic education.
The pre-vocational education stream
will no longer exist as all learners will
follow the same NYCBE curriculum.

5.2.3 Early Support Programme

One objective of the NYCBE reform is
to ensure mastery of those competencies that will ease transition for all to
upper secondary education. For this
to happen, learning gaps have to be
detected as early as possible and remedial measures taken as soon as learning
difficulties are identified. Failure to
intervene early leads to an accumulation of learning deficits that becomes
very difficult and costly to compensate
for in later years.
Accordingly,

u
Pupils requiring remediation will
24
Inspiring every child

receive special coaching during

school hours.

u Support Teachers/paraprofessional educators will be recruited and

trained to assist the class teacher in
teaching pupils facing learning difficulties.

u A remedial education plan will be

jointly developed by the Support
Teacher and the class teacher for
every pupil so as to guide appropriate action, thus ensuring reintegration of the pupil in the mainstream.

All Educators will have a specified

number of hours of professional
development that will sustain their
mastery of knowledge and enhance
their pedagogical skills for the effective delivery of the curriculum.

u
Conditions will be created and

The following measures will be

implemented:

u The teaching community will be

u Pre-service training will be mandatory for all Educators.

facilitation measures set up so as to

introduce and sustain a culture of
sharing through the establishment
of a community of good practice
within and across schools.

made proficient in the mastery

of digital tools so as to foster a
learner-centered and participatory
approach in teaching.

u
On completion of their training, u 
Teachers competence will be so
new teachers will be properly
inducted and mentored by experienced teachers to properly mould
their outlook towards teaching and
their future professional identity.

strengthened as to enable their

learners to take responsibility for
their own learning. Learners will
set targets for their learning and
work towards their attainment.

u Teacher professional standards will

u A Teachers Council will be set up

u Teachers professional competence

ontinuous Professional DevelopC

ment programmes will also focus on
the strengthening of the leadership
capacity of Heads of Schools such
that they can become more effective
instructional and transformational
leaders.

be elaborated in line with international good practices in the domain

to guide the development of teachers throughout their career.
will be continually improved in
pedagogy, instructional skills,
classroom practices and adolescent
development.

for improved professionalisation.

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25

Section 6

Section 6

6.0 The Assessment Framework

Doing away with some of the pressure resulting from the current regime
of high stake assessment and examination underscores the necessity to
introduce alternate forms of assessment, one of which is the SchoolBased Assessment (SBA).
School-Based Assessment has
the potential of not only reducing
examination pressure but also helping towards the development of
the whole-person. It thus allows for
assessment in some desirable learning areas that are not amenable to
traditional forms of assessments.

Continuous Assessment will be an

important component of assessment
throughout the system. It will act as
a diagnostic and formative tool for
teachers to enable them to cater for differentiated learning needs of pupils.
The Learner Development Profile
(LDP), introduced for every child
as from pre-primary, will be carried
forward to Grade 1 onwards so as to
keep track of her learning trajectory
over the nine years of basic education. All parents will have access to
this LDP to enable them to follow
their childs progress.

6.1 National Assessments of Learning at Key Stages

National Assessments for and of
learning will take place at different key stages in the system. These
will, among other things, provide
feedback to the various stakeholders
who are the individual learners themselves, teachers, schools, parents, the
wider education system, employers,
and to society at large.
National Assessments for and of
learning will take place at different key stages in the system. These
will, among other things, provide
feedback to the various stakeholders
who are the individual learners themselves, teachers, schools, parents, the
wider education system, employers,
and to society at large.
6.1.1 K
 ey Stage 1: Primary School
Readiness at beginning of
Grade 1

26

At this stage, it is crucial to determine

how successfully children make the
transition from their pre-school expeInspiring every child

rience to the primary school set up.

Their readiness for primary schooling
will be gauged through the LDP.
Primary School Readiness has a direct
bearing on teaching and learning at
Grade 1, the foundation year which
is designed to level the playing field
through in-time remediation and
thus close potential learning gaps.
6.1.2 Key Stage 2: Diagnostic
Assessment at beginning of Grade 3
A Diagnostic Assessment, as an evaluation tool, will be administered at
the beginning of Grade 3 to identify
learning deficits of pupils after two
years of primary schooling.
Findings from the Diagnostic
Assessment will enable child-centered focused remedial work to be
undertaken and also allow progress
to be recorded.

6.1.3 Key Stage 3: Assessment at

end of Grade 6: Primary School
Achievement Certificate

6.1.4 Key Stage 4: Assessment at

end of Grade 9: National Certificate
of Education

The current CPE examination will be

replaced by a new mode of assessment, the

At the end of Grade 9, students take

a national assessment, the National
Certificate of Education (NCE).
This will serve for progression of
students to upper secondary and orientation to either general or technical or vocational education. National
Assessments at Key Stages 3 & 4
will be set and marked by MES.

Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) that will assess learners

holistically.
Assessment leading to the PSAC will
thus also comprise a School-Based
Assessment component.
The PSAC will equally take a modular approach to reduce undue stress
resulting from all assessments taken
solely at the end of Grade 6.

6.1.5 Key Stage 5: Assessment at

end of Grade 11
The first two years of upper secondary (Grades 10 & 11) lead to a School
Certificate (SC)/ O-Level qualification pitched at level 3 on the NQF.

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27

Students will be awarded an SC/Olevel or an SC Technical or, again, a

National Vocational Qualification.
They will then have the option of
either
(i) moving on to HSC or
(ii) entering into training centres/Polytechnics for technical diplomas, or
again,
(iii) entering the labour market

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6.1.6 Key Stage 6: Assessment at end

of Grade 13
Students following the General Education Stream will take an assessment
at the end of Grade 13 leading to
A-level/Higher School Certificate
or HSC Professional (Level 5 on the
NQF). These will allow for entry into
(i) Tertiary Education Institutions, or
(ii) Polytechnics, or, again,
(iii) The labour market

Section 7

Section 7
7.0 Modalities for the Lead-up
to the Award of the Primary School
Achievement Certificate and
the National Certificate of Education

7.1 The Primary School Achievement

Certificate (PSAC)
Towards the end of primary education, learners take the assessment
leading to the award of the Primary
School Achievement Certificate
(PSAC).

u SBA will assess pupils in non-core

learning areas and will be introduced in a phased manner.

u SBA will be competency-based and

in congruence with the standards

of learning prescribed in the curriculum.

u Assessment leading to the PSAC u 

SBA will undergo a moderawill comprise a School-Based
Assessment component (SBA).

tion process by the Mauritius

Examinations Syndicate.

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29

7.1.1 I ntroducing a Modular

Approach to Assessment

Assessment leading to the PSAC will

comprise

The PSAC adopts a modular approach

that helps to relieve some of the pressure on learners and allows them to
concentrate on a limited number of
subjects assessed at a given time.

(i) two modular assessments in two

core subjects taken at the end of
Grade 5 and at the end of Term 2
of Grade 6;

Modular Assessment

(ii) and end of Grade 6 assessments

in the remaining core subjects as
defined below:

The modular approach will be used to assess

- Science
- History & Geography.
These will be taken at the end of Grade 5 and at the end of
Term 2 of Grade 6. The assessments will be standardized
and, in due time, ICT-based.
They will be carried out by the MES.
The results will be banked for the computation of final
results.

Assessment
at the end of Grade 6

The assessment at the end of Grade 6 will focus on the

following subjects only:
- English
- French
- Math
and, where applicable, an optional language
(an Asian language/ Arabic/ Kreol Morisien).

30
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7.1.2 The Grading System

Each core subject will be marked along a grade range of
1 to 6, with grading 1 being the highest (see table below).
The level of competence in non-core learning areas will be
described along a 3-point scale as follows:

u Proficient
u Intermediate
u Basic
The Certificate will include the results of both core and
non-core learning areas.
The grade aggregate will be based initially on the 4 best
core subjects.
In keeping with the stated focus of this reform on the
whole person development, it is intended, in due time, to
give greater recognition to non-core learning areas.

Grading System of Core Subjects

Numerical Grade

Marks

75 and above

60 and above but below 75

50 and above but below 60

40 and above but below 50

30 and above but below 40

Less than 30

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31

7.2 The National Certificate of Education (NCE)

At the end of the basic education
cycle, students will sit for the National
Certificate of Education (NCE) assessment. This national assessment at end
of Grade 9 will serve for the purpose
of promotion to and orientation in
Grade 10.
Placed under the overarching principle of Education for Sustainable
Development, eight learning areas
have been defined in the National
Curriculum Framework for Grades 7
to 9, to wit, Languages, Mathematics,

Modern Studies

Scientific and Environmental Education, The Arts, Health and Physical

Education, Commercial Studies
(Accounting, Management and Enterprise Education), Technology/ICT
and Social/Modern Studies.
Components of Life Skills, Intercultural Education, Citizenship Education, Sexuality Education and Values
Education will cut across these eight
learning areas while ICT will be
integrated across the curriculum as
depicted in Figure 2.

Languages

Technology - ICT

Mathematics

Scientific and
Environmental
Education

Accounting
Management &
Enterprise education

Health and Physical

Education

The Arts

Figure 2 : Learning Areas for the Lower Secondary Curriculum

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7.2.1 Learning Areas / Subjects to be assessed

Students will be assessed on a determined number of (i) core and (ii) noncore subjects. The assessment of core subjects will be conducted in the written
mode while assessment of the non-core subjects will be school-based.
The list of core and non-core subjects is shown in the table below:

LANGUAGES

Core Subjects

Non-Core Subjects

ENGLISH

PERFORMING ARTS

FRENCH

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

OPTIONAL:
ASIAN LANGUAGE/ ARABIC/
KREOL MORISIEN

LIFE SKILLS AND VALUES

MATHEMATICS
SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY
COMMERCIAL STUDIES
SOCIAL/MODERN STUDIES

VISUAL ARTS

7.2.2 The Grading System

The grading system for the National Certificate of Education will be as follows:

Numerical Grade

Marks

85 and above

75 and above but below 85

65 and above but below 75

55 and above but below 65

45 and above but below 55

35 and above but below 45

Below 35
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33

Section 8
8.0 Progression of Students across the System

8.1 Entry in Secondary Schools

The last three years of basic education - Grades 7 to 9 - will be taught in
secondary schools.

Transition to Grade 7 will be done

on a regional basis in the 4 existing
Education Zones.

8.2 Criteria for Admission to Regional Secondary Schools

Transition to Grade 7 will be based on the following criteria:

u Parental choice;
u Grade aggregate at the Primary School Achievement Certificate; and
u Proximity of residence to the secondary school.

8.3 Academies
One of the fundamental aspects of
the NYCBE reform is the regionalization of the admission process to
secondary schools.

Academies will therefore

Twelve (12) of the existing secondary schools, most of which currently admit students in Form I on a
national basis, will be converted into
Academies.

(ii) admit students on a national

basis.

34
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(i) enroll students as from Grade 10;

and

8.4 Extended Stream

uA
 fter Grade 6, students who would u P
 rovision will be made for a
not have reached the required
standard, will still move on to a
Regional Secondary school.

special class in every Regional

Secondary school for the extended cycle.

uT
 hese students will enter into an

u S uch a class will have a reduced

extended four-year stream where

they will follow the same curriculum as those in the regular threeyear Lower Secondary cycle.

class size for facilitation of learning.

8.5 Vocational Training Centres

The provision of nine years of basic
education ensures that those opting
to enrol on vocational training programmes have an advanced level of
literacy and numeracy as against the
case for the current enrollees in the
pre-vocational stream. This guarantees the strong likelihood for them
to later embark on more rewarding
further and higher level courses in
technical and vocational education
and training.

The TVET sector is called upon,

therefore, to be revamped with transformations operating at three levels:

u Infrastructure with state-of-theart technological equipment.

uP
 rogrammes reviewed for increased relevance to existing and new
emerging sectors.

uC
 apacity building at all levels.

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35

Section 9
9.0 Institutional Arrangements for Post-Basic Education

Regional Secondary schools running

Grades 7 to 9 classes will also offer
secondary education up to Grade 13.
Students would therefore be able to
continue their studies from Grade 10
through to
Grade 13 in the same school where
they would have been enrolled in
Grade 7.

In addition, two new types of institutions will now figure on the educational landscape for the provision of
post-basic education. They are

u Academies; and
u Polytechnics

9.1 Academies
Academies will be set up to act as
centres of excellence for post-basic
education. These will be called upon,
in due time and after a proven record,
to develop into specialist institutions
offering particular fields of study
relevant to the socio-economic developmental needs of the country.

u S tudents from Regional Secondary

uA
 cademies will run classes from

uA
 cademies will enjoy increased

Grades 10 to 13.

uA
 dmission to Grade 10 will be on

a national basis, depending upon

student performance and aptitude at the National Certificate
of Education as well as student
preference.

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schools will also have the possibility, after SC/ GCE O level, to
seek admission to an Academy for
Grades 12 and 13.

uA
 cademies will be co-educational
institutions.

autonomy and operate along new

management models.

The possibility will also exist for

some Private grant-aided secondary
schools to become Academies based
on their track record and specified
conditions.

9.2 Polytechnics

Polytechnic education aims at providing work-ready and high quality diploma holders to accelerate
the development of Mauritius into
a knowledge-based, skills-driven
economy. Polytechnics as post-secondary institutions will thus provide the skills required at technical
and middle management level. They
will have programmatic flexibility
to cater for the changing needs of a
growing economy.
Polytechnics will target secondary
school leavers for programmes jointly worked out with industry and
leading to the award of a diploma in
a career-oriented field.
Polytechnic education courses will be
delivered at diploma and advanced
diploma levels, i.e., Levels 6 and 7
respectively of the NQF.

Successful completion of the diploma

level programme will open up access
to higher education, but Polytechnics
will generally not be an alternative
route to University but rather an
alternative to university studies.

9.2.1 Pathways to Polytechnics

Students wishing to join the Technical
Education and Training pathway
will access the Polytechnics

u a fter successful completion of

Grade 11 (in Regional Secondary
schools/ Academies)

u a fter successful com pletion of

Grade 13 (in Regional Secondary

schools/ Academies)

u a fter completion of vocational pro-

grammes in Vocational Training

Centres and after following a
Foundation Programme
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Section 10
10.0 System Governance and Accountability
Implementing the NYCBE reform
will require a robust governance and
management framework for an efficient and effective delivery of the
Education and Training mandate.

uG
 reater autonomy will be granted

The current organisational system

does not fully lend itself to this objective. Consequently, there is an urgent
need for a reorganisation of the education system and making sure that
it subscribes to the principles of good
governance for increased accountability at all levels.

uT
 o ensure ground reality of stated

The existing Institutional framework

is made up of

u the Ministry that establishes clear,

ambitious policy goals;

u the Educational Zones responsible

for the implementation and monitoring of the policies; and

to schools to deliver on positive

and improved learning/ academic
outcomes with more management
discretion for curriculum delivery.
objectives, the role of the Primary
Inspectorate body will be reviewed
and a strong Quality Assurance
will have two clear and distinct
functions:
(i) S
 upport schools for school
improvement and

(ii) U
 ndertake external evaluation
of schools.

uA
 n external evaluation of Teacher

Education programmes run by the

MIE will be conducted to ensure
these are more firmly grounded in
the classroom reality.

u S chools that are the front-line poli- u A


cy implementers and learning centres.

Learning for All necessitates an

institutional reform and pedagogic
change with a greater degree of devolution to the zones and the schools.
There has to be a move away from
a traditional top-down approach to
a bottom-up focus which delegates
responsibility to Schools and Zone
and expects accountability from both
for improved teaching and learning.
The Ministry then can focus on and
live up to its responsibility as a policy-maker.
Accordingly,

uT
 he role of Educational Zones

vis-a-vis the Ministry will be redefined and theirleadership capacity

strengthened.

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Centre for Curriculum

Development and Research will be
set up to inform policy decisions
on curriculum and pedagogy.

On the other hand, teachers must

also engage their accountability to
improve the quality of learning in
the classroom. While routine support and guidance will continue to
be provided to teachers to improve
their pedagogical effectiveness, other
motivational components will also be
resorted to.

u S ome of the best qualified graduates will be attracted to the teaching profession and provided with
proper pre-service training and
systematic opportunities for continuing professional development;

u S chools will be encouraged to

identify training needs at their

level and facilitate school based
in-service training (SBIT);

uT
 he move will be towards having
an all-graduate teaching force;

uA
 review of the existing career
structure will be undertaken and
new pathways created for promotion as a form of incentivisation for teachers to stay longer in
the profession;

uT
 he new career pathways will be

based on meritocracy, excellence

and tangible deliverables; and

uA
 Teachers Council will be
set up to advise, inter alia, on
policies regarding staff development.

The bottom line in Education is

to ensure that learning is taking
place. The different Units in the
system have to be held accountable for learning, the more so since
Mauritius is called upon to deliver
on the 15-year horizon and the 2030
Global Education Goal.
To strengthen the process, a
Monitoring and Evaluation Unit
will be set up at the Ministry for
reporting progress at all levels in
the education system. Among other
things, it will translate stated objectives into performance indicators
and set targets, undertake regular
quality audits, compare results with
targets and report on progress.

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Section 11
11.0 Managing the Transition

The new assessment replacing the

CPE will be introduced as from 2017
onwards.
As a transitional measure, pupils of
Std V in 2016, will take

Pupils of Grade V in 2017 will take

u the modular assessment in Science

and History & Geography (Module
1) in October/November 2017, followed by

u the modular assessment in Science u the modular assessment in Science

and History & Geography in
August 2017, followed by

and History & Geography (Module

2) in July 2018, followed by

u a ssessments in English, French,

u a ssessments in English, French,

uO
 ne non-core subject / learning

uT
 wo non-core subjects/learning

Math and optionally an Asian

Language/Arabic/ Kreol Morisien
in October/November 2017
area (Communications Skills) in 2017

Math and optionally an Asian

Language/Arabic/ Kreol Morisien
in October/November 2018
areas (Communications Skills and
IT) in 2017 and 2018

As from January 2018, there will be

no intake of Grade 7 students in the
12 schools that will be converted into
Academies.

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11.1 Synoptic presentation of transitional arrangements

Target
Group

Assessment
taken in
Grade 5

Grade 5/

1. Take a modular assessment

Standard V

Continue
with current

in Science and History &

Pupils are
admitted

in 2016

practice of Std V

Geography in end of August 2017

to Grade

examinations in
2016

Assessment taken in Grade 6

2. Sit for final assessment in Oct/

Nov 2017 in the remaining core

Admission
to Grade 7

7 in 2018

subjects
3. Take a non-core subject/
learning area (Communications
Skills) in 2017
Grade 5/
Standard V
in 2017

Pupils are

Take a modular
assessment
(Module 1)
in Science
and History &
Geography
in October/
November 2017
SBA in two noncore subjects/
learning areas
(Communications
Skills and IT Skills)
in 2017
As per current
practice for
remaining core
subjects

admitted
1. Take a modular assessment
(Module 2) in Science and History
& Geography in July 2018

to Grade
7 in 2019

2. Sit for final assessment in Oct/

Nov 2018 in the remaining core
subjects/ learning areas

3. Take 2 non-core subjects/

learning areas (Communications
Skills and IT Skills) in 2018

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11.2 Implementing the Transition

11.2.1 Administrative
Arrangements
uT
 he National Curriculum Frame-

work for the Nine Year Continuous

Basic Education and the National
Curriculum Framework for Grades 1-6 have been approved by
Government in November 2015
and the NCF documents officially
launched in December 2015.

uT
 he

Education (Amendment)
Regulations and Private Secondary Schools (Amendment)
Regulations were promulgated
on 21 November 2015 to provide
for the organisation and conduct
of the PSAC assessment in 2017,
the mode of admission to Grade
7 in 2018 and related transitional arrangements and will come
into operation on 1 January 2017
[Government Notices No. 227 and
228 of 2015].

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uT
 he Annual Programme for PSAC
Assessment 2017 was elaborated
in consultation with MES and
gazetted in December 2015. The
Annual Programme provides for
rules and regulations for the organization and conduct of the PSAC
Assessment and details out the
Assessment Syllabuses for the
various subjects to be offered at
PSAC Assessment in 2017.

uT
 he above documents constitute the

2 years notice before the introduction of the new PSAC Assessment

in replacement of CPE in 2017.

uA
 mendments have been brought

to the Education Act to provide for

the implementation of NYS and
related transitional arrangements.

Section 12
12.0 Strategic Framework for implementing NYCBE Reform
Strategic
Goal
All learners
leaving the
pre-primary
sector are ready
for a sound
primary school
experience

Performance
Indicator and
target by 2030
All children
meet primary
school readiness
requirements at
start of Grade I.

Strategic Actions
Review policies and legislation that guarantee the
provision of at least one year of compulsory quality preprimary education
Strengthen coordination among ministries responsible
for nutrition, health, social protection and education and
stakeholders for integrated multi-sector ECD policies and
programmes
Professionalise the ECCE sub-sector by enhancing and
monitoring continuous professional development
Strengthen programmes for the early identification of
children with/at risk of disabilities and implement timely
interventions to minimize developmental delays and to
improve inclusion and learning outcomes
Improve school environment for schools to be ready
for children and capable of providing developmentallyappropriate teaching-leaning opportunities
Review the National Curriculum Framework that will
ensure quality holistic early childhood development
Develop and implement an Early Years Assessment
Framework to measure learners readiness for primary
school

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Strategic
Goal

Performance
Indicator and
target by 2030

Strategic Actions

All teachers are

Learners are
taught by
qualified and
qualified and
trained
trained teachers
at all levels in the
education system

Move towards teacher excellence

Develop strategies to attract the best qualified and most
motivated candidates to teaching and create opportunities
for professional growth
Conduct periodic external and independent evaluation of
teacher education programmes
Provide all teachers with adequate technological skills to
manage ICT and social networks, to adopt ICT-mediated
learning
Build capacity of teachers in formative assessment and its
utilization for remediation and improvement of learning
outcomes
Develop and implement sound capacity building
programmes based on training needs and an effective
feedback system to support good teaching and teachers
professional development
Strengthen school leadership capacity to improve teaching
and learning

Effective
education
leadership at
Ministry, Zone
Directorate and
school levels

Develop a programme for institutional reform for greater

accountability
Set standards for quality in teaching, school leadership and
school effectiveness
Set up a Centre for Curriculum Development and
Research to inform policy and pedagogical practice
Set up a Teachers Council to advise, inter alia, on policies
regarding staff development
Institutionalise mechanisms for Monitoring and Evaluation,
reporting on progress of education reforms
Undertake quality audits of the Ministry
Devolve greater degree of autonomy to schools
(including for management models) and Educational Zones
Implement systematic monitoring of schools, self-evaluation
of schools and regular external evaluation of schools
Engage in international benchmarking of the education
system

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13.0 Implementation Plan

Section 13

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Ministry
of child
Education
Inspiring
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and Human Resources,Tertiary Education and Scientific Research

August 2016

Designed and Printed by Open University of Mauritius, 2016

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