What if our elected representatives were really our employees?

One view which is often expressed in social media is that our elected representatives are our employees probably because they are paid indirectly by us through the various taxes that we all pay.  In this article, I would like to explore the implications of this thinking.

Demographic decline: the case of Mauritius

Introduction

While explaining systems thinking, experts often give the example of someone in a traditional bathroom with a hot-water and a cold-water tap connected to the shower.  First the water is too cold, he turns the hot water tap and increases the flow of hot water.  The water remains cold.  Unaware of the delay in-built in the system, he turns the hot water tap further and suddenly the water is too hot.  He panics and opens cold-water tap to the maximum …

Leadership and Educational Reforms

1.       Introduction

Considerable time and resources have been invested into the drafting of the Nine-Year Schooling (NYS) project.  This reform, like most others, may be far from perfect.  However, this is not the time to go into the flaws of the reform but to focus on what is required to move successfully forward.  This article argues that leadership development at all levels of the system is a pre-requisite if we are to ensure its effective implementation and thus an optimum return on our investment.

The Hidden Costs of Corruption

 Introduction

 Many of us tend to adopt a simplistic view of corruption.  We tend to see corruption as a mere transaction that involves people who illegally enrich themselves by taking bribes or kickbacks and others who pay the bribes voluntarily for some bigger benefits or because they are compelled to do so. 

 Corruption in this case is reduced to a transaction between two parties and third parties (i.e., the public at large) who are not involved in this transaction are often tempted to adopt either of two stands or a combination of both:  (a) they acknowledge the immorality or illegality of the transaction; (b) they are indifferent to it because they are not personally involved.   In any case, they do not think there is much they can do about corruption.

 This article tries to establish that corruption involves more than a simple illegal transaction –  it has a significant long-term pernicious impact on ALL of us.

Teaching is an act of leadership…

As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ...
When the best leader's work is done the people say,
“We did it ourselves!”
― Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher 531 BC

Introduction

This article posits the view that teaching is leading in the real sense of the word.

Leadership and Corruption

We often think that others (e.g., politicians, etc) have to change if we are to rid society of corrupt practices or that some institution (e.g., ECO, ICAC) would need to be created to eradicate corruption. The truth is that we are the ones that need to change first.

What Do We Understand By Leadership?

Article published in  Le Mauricien | 3 July, 2012

Introduction
In the recent months there have been frequent discussions on the quality of leadership, on leadership failures, on the need for a ‘new generation of leaders’ etc … This short article, which does not pretend to be exhaustive, attempts to throw some light on this pertinent issue.

Political Party Financing and Corruption

Introduction

In a recent issue of Time Magazine, Fareed Zakaria writes

Special interests [in the US] pay politicians vast amounts of cash for their campaigns and in return they get favorable exemptions or credits in the tax code.  In other countries, this sort of bribery takes place underneath bridges and with cash in brown envelopes …  (October 31, 2011, page 19)

This echoes views held by some people in Mauritius who see political party financing as the root of all corruption.  

Swine Flu and Big Business

 [This article was first published in the local press in August / September 2009]

For the year, we forecast sales of Tamiflu to reach ¥53.0 billion, up 531.0%, due to expected resumption of government stockpiling in FY2009 and the ongoing recovery of the prescription rate for seasonal influenza.

(p3) – Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Annual Report 2008 

The recent announcement that the shelf life of Tamiflu could be extended by another two years got me suspicious. If it could expire in 2011, why did the suppliers print 2009 on the box? Was there a sinister motive underlying this decision to print an earlier expiry date?

Mass absenteeism in Secondary Schools: Does the cause lie in the syllabus?

Every year at this time, we hear of the significant increase in absenteeism among Form V and Form VI students.  Various reasons have been put forward and chances are that the same phenomenon will recur next year.

One possible reason is that the solutions being proposed (e.g., sms messages to parents etc) do not address the systemic dimensions of the problem. 

Eradication of Absolute Poverty - An out-of-the box approach

1. Introduction

Most readers would agree that eradication of absolute poverty (EAP) is no easy task for various reasons. These would include inter alia factors inherent in the concerned individuals

1.1. unreliable data on who the individuals concerned are, because some of those in the EAP database do not belong to the absolute poor category

The Mauritian Attitude to Work

1. Introduction


1.1. There is considerable talk these days about the need for Mauritians to work harder so as to get the country out of the morass in which it finds itself. This article posits the view that while other factors – e.g., foreign direct investment - are important , we need to seriously re-visit our attitude to work if we aspire for a better future for the coming generations.

“Star schools”: Myth or reality?

During the last few days, one has heard a number of persons pontificating the need for “star schools”. These have even been described by some as “centres of excellence”. While listening to them one wonders whether most of them know what they are talking about or whether some have even set foot in one of them. As a former Royal College Curepipe student and teacher who has also worked as a Research Officer at the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, I can legitimately claim that I know something about these institutions.

The Scourge is the Laureate system and not the CPE

The laureate system has become a sacred ritual practised in the shrine of the Royal College by generations, and any attempt to lay profane hands on this custom is bitterly resented.

How to make the zoning system work both at primary and secondary levels?

• Introduce regional merit list and an admission quota system

• Abolish national merit lists at primary & secondary levels

• Abolish the laureate system at HSC level

• Give the University of Mauritius the role it deserves

How to blast the myth concerning “five-star” schools?

1. INTRODUCTION

This article suggests one possible way to blast the myth concerning “five-star” schools and analyses the possible advantages of this measure. At the same time, it proposes some revolutionary changes in our educational system which are easy to implement.


2. ABOLITION OF NATIONAL MERIT LISTS

2.1. The national merit lists at CPE should be replaced say in six years’ time by two lists consisting of the first five boys and the first five girls respectively in every primary school in alphabetical order.

About Certificates and jobs

Psychologists generally conceive of learning as a relatively permanent change in behaviour. This behaviour includes both observable activity and internal processes such as thinking, attitudes and emotions.



Employers, on the other hand, base their selection decisions on candidates’ knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs).

Creole at school: the latest fad?

Adapted version of an article first published in L'Express on 09/03/2004




A great deal has been said about the use and teaching of Creole in Mauritian schools. [...]

What is worrying with the current debate on Creole is that it is being presented as THE solution to our main educational problem – the high rate of failure. Creole, according to some, is the panacea for all our problems. The fact is that the use of Creole in schools is not forbidden and many teachers already use it while teaching.


It is probably high time we stopped mixing politics, communalism and emotions with education for the good of all concerned.

A case for a decentralised school management model

First published in L'Express on 25/09/2007



There is unquestionable unanimity about education as a potential tool for social mobility. There is also general agreement that a dysfunctional system can also be a strong agent of social divide and exclusion.


What is lacking is a minimum consensus on what needs to be done to ensure that objectives are achieved.

Successful public – private partnership

First published in L'Express on 11/07/2006



Introduction

Soon after the government formulated its vision of transforming the country into a cyber island with three main dimensions, various teams emerged to realize this vision. One such team, the Implementation Working Group (IWG) emanated from the e-education taskforce headed by the Minister of Education (MOE). The IWG consists of ministry representatives (education, training, IT, etc), educational institutions (including the University of Mauritius) as well as private sector organizations.