Address by Dr. the Honourable Vasant K. Bunwaree, Minister of Education, Culture & Human Resources.

on the occasion of the launching ceremony of the National Curriculum Framework (Secondary) to be held on

Thursday 21 January 2010 at 13.00hrs at Octave Wiehe Auditorium, Reduit.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be in your midst this afternoon to address you on the occasion of the launching ceremony of the National Curriculum Framework for the secondary sub-sector. Today is especially a landmark in its own right since, after the publication of the National Curriculum Framework for pre-primary and primary subsectors, we are finally closing the loop with the secondary sub-sector. This is directly in line with Government Program 2005-2010 which

promised to undertake a comprehensive review of the curriculum at primary and secondary levels in the light of the development world-wide and our national needs. Ladies and gentlemen, Curriculum occupies a critical place in the Education and Human Resource Strategy Plan that we have come up with, a Plan that makes provision for educational policies and practices covering the period 2008-2020. There is however one fundamental point I wish to highlight here.

The Strategy Plan is not one that is carved in stone, immutable and fixed in time and space. Rather, it is a dynamic one. How could it be otherwise? There are far too many unknowns in the future-- which is tomorrow. Look at all the challenges that our society- not simply the Mauritian society, but the global society- has to contend with: climate change, the impacts of globalisation, the ubiquity and changing nature of technology, to name but a few. And these challenges compel us to constantly redefine ourselves. We thus have the obligation to develop a pool of human resources that are capable of adapting themselves to the demands of an international agenda. That is why, the strategy Plan is not an end in itself but provides the means to face the present and emerging challenges in a smart way. Most significantly, it sets the scene for all of us to make ours the famous words of Albert Einstein, The important thing is not to stop questioning. This is why we have to keep in view that the Curriculum is central to all reform processes. I will not dwell lengthily on the innovations we have ushered in the primary sub-sector-- the Bridging the Gap Initiative at Standard I, the introduction of new textbooks up to Standard V so far and Standard VI next year, the splitting of textbooks to make them more child-friendly.

But I need to emphasise two major milestones that are being introduced as from this year: Continuous Assessment at STD III & IV that is a logical next step after the Diagnostic Assessment Scheme at STD III to evaluate attainment of skills and competencies of the two earlier years and the proscription of the use of school premises for private tuition at Std IV. At the secondary level, ladies and gentlemen, you are all aware of the substantial innovations that are being introduced: the broadening of the curriculum base program with emphasis on the teaching of science and technology to those not intending to take science as their field of study at higher classes, the vocationalization of the curriculum through the introduction of new subjects like Travel and Tourism, Physical Education, Marine Science and Environmental Management, the reinforcement of pedagogy by the use of ICT and multimedia. These are but some of them Ladies and Gentlemen, The curricular measures adopted by my Ministry may not be unanimously and readily accepted by all the players. This is not surprising. It is almost a platitude that change is not easily accepted - even by teachers who themselves are agents of change and who expect cognitive and behavioural changes in their own pupils. The issue is therefore one of conviction, confidence and commitment. And these characteristics: conviction, confidence and commitment are exactly what we need if we are to make the revolution in education a

success in Mauritius, and especially the digital revolution we want to bring about. Ladies and gentlemen, failing to bridge the technological divide in Education that separates us from more developed nations can only worsen matters for us. In fact, the equation is a very obvious one: to succeed in todays world economy, our countries must strive towards becoming amongst the most highly IT literate nations otherwise the knowledge gap will inexorably increase. Its as simple as that. Today, we cannot say that we are at the dawn of new changes in the Education system with technology playing a more important role in the classroom and for the learner. We are in reality well past that dawn-- in fact we are in the middle of these changes. What can be daunting, though, is that, before we have successfully mastered the existing technology, we will witness the emergence of new tools coming or meant to come into the classroom to enhance the teaching and learning process. Already, in our global environment, through Distance Education and Open Universities, we see that we are moving towards a culture of elearning and flexibility in learning which is soon going if it hasnt already done so - to revolutionize the way students and teachers interact. We do see, through the use of ICT in education, people hitherto not having access to education now being able to learn from the comfort of

their homes and at their own time and pace, thanks to the connectivity of the internet. You will all recall that ICT had been designated as one of the six global thematic areas for the work of UNDP in the developing worldthe other 5 being Democratic governance, poverty reduction, crisis prevention and recovery, energy and environment and HIV/aids. What is important to keep in view is the fact that education occupies both a centripetal and centrifugal role in the achievement of the associated goals. Accordingly, we are forcefully driving our ICT Agenda forward. 8 secondary schools are soon to have video-conferencing and 12 others will have e-learning facilitiesand this is just the beginning. Through an existing agreement with Microsoft, we are pressing hard to make the Innovative Teachers Forum a reality. And my appeal to all of you, Rectors, present here today is to make sure that you all join the bandwagon so as not to lag behind. This is as much a daunting task for you as for policy-makers and curriculum planners to-day. It is no easy task, you will accept. At a time when many countries are struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half by 2015 and to increase access to education to all their children at the primary and secondary levels, Mauritius has to raise educational standards to measure up to the advanced countries in terms of access, quality and equity. We need to empower our children by providing every single one with the opportunity to unlock their potential so that they can give the best of

themselves. These are our only dependable resources our human capital. The National Curriculum Framework- I must add here that it is the first of its kind ever produced for Mauritius is responsive to the needs and aspirations of a society undergoing rapid transformation on account of changes at the local, regional and international levels. It aims at creating an enabling environment for a progressive and vibrant education to meet the expectations and challenges of the Mauritian students of the 21st century. It promotes a holistic and inclusive education, empowering the learner and creating the community of practice through building bridges between all the partners that are actively involved in the learning experiences of the student. But allow me a word of caution here. It is evident that curriculum processes are highly complex and require specialized knowledge and technical expertise. The Framework that we are launching today should not be confused with the syllabus or textbooks.

It aims at laying the foundation for the identification of the overarching learning outcomes, the development of specific competencies and skills for the different learning areas, the definition of the learning areas themselves and the teaching/learning strategies to be adopted, the assessment standards and teacher-training. In short, it incorporates all the learning activities and targets regarding students development that have to be achieved in schools. My sincere wish is that it be given wider currency, disseminated among the education community, that it be studied with an open mind and implemented effectively by all parties concerned in the interests of the Mauritian child and the Mauritian society. Before ending I wish to thank the MIE for its relentless effort in advancing the cause of education by writing the National Curriculum Framework (Secondary) like it did for the Primary and the Pre-Primary. It is now my pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, to officially launch the NCF Secondary. I wish you all a fruitful perusal. Thank you for your attention.