1. Digital Education Revolution in
Mauritius. How revolutionary it is?
 Conference Presentation EDU
8719
 Presented by: Teemul
Soobhadra

2. About Mauritius
 Population size: 1.3
million
 Former British and
French Colony
 Gained independence
in 1968
 Multi-pillar economy
with heavy emphasis on
knowledge
 Free education from
pre-primary up to
tertiary level

3. Background
 Education based on British education system:
• 2-year pre-primary education
• 6-years primary education
• 7- years secondary education
• Tertiary education
 Educational reform Government came up with the Education and
Human Resources Strategic Plan 2008-2020
 Emphasis on digital education to improve teaching and learning
at primary and secondary schools, and increasing access to
tertiary education
 Compulsory education up to age of 16
 Literacy rate: 85%
 Education budget: increasing subsequently (11.4% of
Government’s expenditure in 2011)

4. ICT Infrastructure in Mauritius
 20 learners per computer in
school
 29.6% internet penetration ratio
 Broadband penetration rate: 75%
 Internet speed up to 1 Mbps
 30% households possess
computers
 All the schools are equipped with
computer lab and have internet
access
 80 mobile phones per 100
inhabitants

5. About Digital Education Revolution
(DER)
 DER refers to the integration of
digital technology (ICT) in
education to bring meaningful
change in teaching and learning
 It is a new concept:
 Learning is not restricted to
classroom
 School are connected to homes
and workplaces
 Learning takes place through
networking and social interaction
 Digital education has many
advantages compared to
traditional education.

6. Preconditions for Digital
Education
 Political and financial
commitment
 Conducive policy
 Access to ICT tools and
equipment
 Adequate infrastructure
 Professional development of
teachers
 Teacher motivation
 Appropriate curricula
 Institutional flexibility
 Digital culture

7. Advantages of digital education
 Greater learning opportunities
for learners
 Improved quality of education
 Learning more adapted to
student’s needs
 Greater flexibility for learning
 Better interactive digital
materials
 Teaching/Learning continues
after school
 Promotes lifelong learning
culture
 Reduction of cost and waste of
resources

8. Digital Education at Pre-primary and
Primary Education Level
 Pre-primary Education Level
 Schools equipped with multimedia equipment which are used
for teaching songs and viewing educational films
 Primary Education level
 Teaching and learning is still oriented towards the classroom
model
 Blackboards and printed media are the most commonly for
teaching and learning at school
 ICT taught as a compulsory subject
 Multimedia rooms equipped with PCs and video projectors.
 Multimedia rooms are used for teaching ICT and projection of
educational films
 Schools are not connected to homes through digital networks
 Classes are being equipped with smart boards
 Digital multimedia materials are not yet available for
teaching/learning

9. Digital Education at secondary level
 Schools are equipped with computer rooms comprising of
PCs, video projector and internet access
 Blackboards and printed media are widely used for teaching
and learning in classrooms
 Computer labs have been set up and are connected to
internet
 Computer and internet are used as tools to edit documents
and research works
 Absence of on-line teaching and learning
 No formal networking between educators , students and
schools
 Digital educational materials not yet available
 Classrooms are gradually being equipped with smart boards
 Mobile reporting system implemented to notify parents of
absences and latenesses of students.

10. Digital Education at tertiary level
 Distance learning programmes are offered through both
synchronous and asynchronous mode by tertiary
institutions such as Mauritius Institute of Education,
Mauritius College of the Air and Universities
 Teachers training programmes are being offered through
distance education mode
 The Centre for Open and Distance Education has been set
up at the University of Mauritius with the sponsorship of
Commonwealth of Learning
 Virtual Centre for Innovative Learning set up in 2003 with
several learning platforms such as I-learn, Learning Object
Repository and online test centre.
 Foreign tertiary education institutions are offering distance
education programmes and managed learning
environments
 Internet is extensively used for research purposes.

11. The Sankore project
 Mauritius is one among the participating countries
 Initiative of French and British Governments to
promote mass education in Africa
 The project is phased over 2010-2015
 Objective of the project is to equip all schools with
smart boards /interactive projectors and produce
and share digital learning materials among the
participating countries
 Gradually classrooms in primary and secondary
schools are being equipped with smart board and
digital teaching materials

12. Government initiatives to promote
DER
 Setting up of multimedia room and computer lab in
primary and secondary schools respectively
 Provision of broadband internet services to schools
 Universal ICT project implemented to upgrade the
computer proficiency skills of the population
 Professional development programmes in ICT for
teachers
 NEPAD e-school project implemented on a pilot basis
 Mobile reporting system introduced at secondary
school level
 Participation of Mauritius in Sankore project
 Setting up of hot spots in designated areas
 Curricula made available online

13. Major challenges to Digital Education
Revolution
 Digital divide among population (only 30%
households equipped with computers and 20.2%
have internet access)
 Educators lack technical skills and motivation to
engage in digital education
 Lack of coordination among tertiary institutions to
implement e-learning programmes
 Lack of digital teaching/learning materials
 No formal networking between schools and the
community
 Copy rights act hinders production and sharing of
educational learning materials
 Resistance to change from traditional education to
digital education

14. Strategies proposed
 New school model where the school and homes of students and
educators form a network
 Continuous professional development of educators through the
setting up of on-line learning communities
 Review of curriculum at primary and secondary levels to provide
learners with the necessary ICT knowledge and skills to develop
a culture of ‘learning to learn’
 More incentives to households for procurement of computers
and internet services to reduce the digital divide.
 More hot spots need to be set up and the internet speed
increased to facilitate the transmission of multimedia files for
learning
 Integration of mobile phone technology in learning
 A blended approach to education combining face to face
teaching and digital interaction
 More collaboration and networking among the tertiary institutions
 Review of copy rights act to enable use of digital materials for
educational purposes

15. Conclusion
 Government committed to implement digital
education
 Various initiatives taken to promote digital
education
 DE still in early phase of development
 Sakore project expected to bring digital education
in primary and secondary schools
 Various challenges have to be addressed
 Strategies proposed to improve digital education