Tertiary Sector

 

  Tertiary education which started in 1924 with the College of Agriculture has since developed into a diversified system, composed of public, private, regional and overseas institutions catering for a wide range of courses and programmes.

 

  Tertiary education in Mauritius is characterized by a wide range of institutions with diverse characteristics. Some provide all levels of tertiary education in a range of disciplines while others focus their activities on only one or two areas at certain levels. A number of the institutions are overseas with their provisions made available through the distance education and mix mode. Within the public sector, tertiary education revolves around the University of Mauritius (UoM), the University of Technology (UTM), the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI), the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD) and the Open University of Mauritius (OUM). Overseeing the four tertiary education institutions (TEIs) is the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) which, inter alia, has responsibility for allocating public funds, and fostering, planning and coordinating the development of post-secondary education and training.

 

  Though the official language of Mauritius is English, most teaching media are in French with few in English and the mother tongue of Creole. Oriental language also forms part of the school curriculum so as to promote cultural diversity. The aim of the government is not only to provide equal access to education to all but to provide strong quality oriented foundations for the students to be fully armed when entering the job market.

 

  In addition to the above publicly-funded institutions (PFIs), a number of private institutions are presently delivering tertiary-level programmes, mostly in niche areas like Information Technology, Law, Management, Accountancy and Finance. Many of the programmes in the private sector are offered in collaboration with overseas institutions.

 

  Many Mauritian students also either go overseas or resort exclusively to the open learning mode in pursuing their higher education studies.