Journalists quick to bury UOM

Wicker Coffin

Originally uploaded by Heaven on Earth Bristol.

Lately, the local press pundits have been reveling in their criticism against the University of Mauritius and to celebrate the wonderful initiatives from the private sector, which according to them, heralds a dazzling academic future for Mauritius. The gist of their discourse is that the University of Mauritius is obsolete and that those private universities will save Mauritius….

If you don’t believe me, read

- the editorial of Raj Meetarbhan in L’Express published on Monday 23rd April
- the editorial of Gilbert Ahnee published in Le Mauricien on Tuesday 24th April

Although one can appreciate the fact there exist such ventures, one cannot deny that for the time being that there are major differences between those private universities and the University of Mauritius. As an academic of this institution, I am the first to acknowlege that there is a lot of room for improvement, that there are many incoherent decisions, that there are administrative bottlenecks, that there may be some lecturers who are not up to standard (according to students’ feedback), etc.

Let’s compare like with like
Yet, if you compare those private institutions with UOM, it is clear that

- the programmes offered by UOM are developed by the institution whereas the private institutions rely on distance education programmes franchised to them by foreign universities
- consequently, lecture materials in private institutions are not developed and tailor-made for Mauritian students
- lecturers there are not really lecturers, they should be called tutors rather as they do not develop the material; they only use D.E. manuals provided to them by the foreign university. One can even ask whether they actually master the content of the subjects they teach…
- the academic staff of the private institutions do little or no research as opposed to UOM

Also, I am quite intrigued by the fact that no journalist has cared to investigate the rapidity with which that Eastern University got its authorisation to bear the appellation of university (something the DCDM Business School which is now renamed Charles Telfair Institute does not even have).They were probably too busy doing the promotion of the Charles Telfair Institute….

In a nutshell, I would tend to say that, except for one or two programmes of study (e.g. I acknowledge that the DCDM Design course is good as it has a hands-on practical approach), those institutions are far behind the University of Mauritius. These institutions are here to make money basically, to exploit the unmet demand of people who need diplomas and degrees to get jobs.

Still, the University of Mauritius needs to improve, that one cannot deny.

Exhausted

Originally uploaded by Avinash Meetoo.

I have been doing so many things at work at the same time these days on top of fighting against a bad cold….

And I still have a lot on my plate:

- Carrying on with normal lectures
- Submission of exam papers
- Marking of assignments
- Marking of project reports
- Marking of placement reports
- Reading/Revision of dissertation drafts
- Appointments with dissertation students
- Finalising a short consultancy
- Doing the administrative work
- Dealing with requests / queries (including some silly ones)
etc.

I hate end of semesters….

Should govt invest further in the sugar industry?

Something has been nagging me since a week. It’s related to the economic decisions facing our country and it’s been triggered by two items I heard/read in the media (radio & print).

- One is the news that the French govt will grant us some significant financial help (around Rs 1 billion) to implement the economic reform (a loan not a donation).

- The other was an appeal by Jacques de Navacelle, President of the JEC (Joint Economic Council), on a radio to give priority to the sugar industry in the allocation of this financial help.

I can’t help asking myself the following questions:

- Why should the money be allocated to an industry everybody says is no longer going to be a pillar of the Mauritian economy, an industry that has been facing tremendous difficulties (so much so that three factories are getting closed down as already planned)?

- Why should the government help industrialists? Is there not a contradiction in the JEC’s discourse (it seems to be against the principle of social aid as far as the population is concerned but it propones the idea that industry should be helped)?

- Why not invest instead in sectors that can actually create jobs, wealth and prosperity (a recent study indicated that the seafood hub and the land-based oceanic industries are the most promising for job creation)?

Avi has been arguing that there are many people in Mauritius who are in way or another connected to the sugar industry, that they need to get proper compensations and be helped to convert to another sector.

My estimations (from CSO stats) are that there’s approximately 10% of the labour force related to the sugar industry.

What do you think about this?

Lack of reading culture

I am occasionally disappointed by students’ lack of reading culture. It would seem that most students in Mauritius do not like reading, I mean interesting reading (not the silly Mills & Boon/Harlequin/Danielle Steele type, nor reading of sensational news about celebrities or crimes).

Which to my mind is the same as saying that they don’t like to learn… You can’t learn things if you don’t like reading, can you?

One little anecdote:
I recently reminded a class of University students about a book I had cited very often to know if any had felt the need to purchase it (not an expensive buy: only Rs 525). Noone had of course. Worse, one student even asked whether it would be used for other modules, presumably to know if the purchase of the ‘commodity’ would be worth it!

Another one:
I’ve been advising all my students to take a subscription to a library such as The British Council or the Centre Culturel Charles Baudelaire since ages. Noone has yet…

Most tend to claim that books are expensive in Mauritius (I agree), that they don’t have much time to read as they work, have a family life, etc. (I won’t take that!)

Of course, one cannot blame them entirely. The system we operate in has never really allowed people (young and old) to discover the beauty of reading quality books and magazines. When they reach uni, it’s even more difficult to inculcate that culture.

Yet, sometimes it makes me feel like saying that we should not allow students in University if they do not like/love reading. I suspect that if that criterion were to be, we would have only a handful of students, if any!

Republic or Bazaar?

Amidst the flurry of reactions following the mosque affair, there is one piece that I would like to signal to your attention. It was written by one of my colleagues at the Faculty and was published by The Mauritius Times.

It is worth the read and I cannot but agree with her that it is high time for the Mauritian society to set the norms for living together ‘en bonne intelligence’ as sane, rational and respectful individuals rather than in a highly competitive religious environment where the muezzin’s ‘azaan’, the pandit’s incantations, the christian churches’ bells and so on are pitched one against the other.

It is up to us to build a true Republic, not a bazaar…

Read her article here

Interviewed in Cinq-Plus Dimanche

I was interviewed by Michaëlla Seblin for Cinq-Plus Dimanche following the PM’s latest threats against the press in Triolet last week.
Read the interview here