Think Mauritius

Comment by Ben

15 August 2006 @ 12:34 am

I totallly agree that there is an abuse of the scholarship system

Comment by Patrick Ng

15 August 2006 @ 1:21 am

This is a tough subject to comment on.

I can understand why some don’t want to return to Mauritius. For example, some won’t be able to find jobs that will suit their qualifications.

Personally, I think they should return to Mauritius simply because their studies are paid for with state money and state money includes tax payer’s money. If I was in Mauritius and paying taxes, I would not want to see another country benefit from the expertise of someone whose education was paid for directly or indirectly with some of my money. I would prefer that same person to come back and help build a better Mauritius.

Having said that, one can also argue that primary and secondary education are also free in Mauritius (state money). This is why I said this subject is very tough to comment on.

Comment by Stéphane Lee

15 August 2006 @ 3:38 am

Primary and secondary education are “free” to everyone. The scholarships are reserved for only a happy few, not everyone. That’s the difference. If you were like in Qatar, they would pay all your education, even overseas.

Comment by Patrick Ng

15 August 2006 @ 4:28 am

Stéphane: It’s true that primary and secondary education are “free” for everyone, unlike the scholarships, in Mauritius. I did not think about this when I was writing my comment.

Comment by waz

15 August 2006 @ 5:18 am

not wanting to be a troller here and hopefully, my comment won’t sound like one:

last i check, in this world, altruism does not have the upper hand! it’s all about self-interest unfortunately!
ingratitude? duh!, who will come back for a pittance and likely unemployment?
state money? is it not more accurate to say tax payers money?
it’s quite harsh to put the blame on the students when the actual system is at fault! it’s not the students who are out there voting for these incompetent narrow minded MPs who do little to better socioeconomic condition! it’s not the students who are debating about the religious criteria for acceptance into catholic college! nor is it the students who have been challenging the system to get hindi/creole examinable! at the end of the day, the blame falls squarely on the voters and those they have had elected!
change the system, improve job opportunities (and salary/benefit prospect) and surely it will stop the brain drain! After a few yrs in another better-off country who wants to come back and earn nothing!
but then, this questions our level of patriotism! is there still such a thing in those who leave home for good?!?! are we being brought up to be patriotic or are we being educated to be more selfish and think more of how we are benefiting our ethnic group rather than the country?

again, i do no mean to be a troll here. i just wanted to join in and offer me ideas or views about all this!

Comment by Olivier

19 August 2006 @ 3:44 pm

Waz has made some good comments.

I have to agree that we haven’t been taught to nurture patriotism at school. Its a very sad state of affairs because as opposed to planting those seeds in children’s minds, we show them that its permissible to discriminate based on status, ethnic origin, religion, opinion.

This segregation, going at all levels simulteneously, train our kids to perpetuate the tradition. The EVS (do they still teach that?) textbooks preach unity and understanding, but what are the chances kids will pick that up when the world around them doesn’t reflect the ideals they learn?

In a related manner, and one that probably creates that aversion to come back to the country to so many laureates is the apparent lack of prevalence of meritocracy in Mauritius. I don’t want to open a whole can of worms right now, but given the economic state of the country, something has to be done to reward people who deserve it.

The laureates are by no means ‘the shit’, but instead, they have the potential to shine very bright if they keep up the good work. Can they shine in Mauritius? I think that we need to make everybody shine in Mauritius before they can decide to add to the luminescence of our motherland.

Comment by Vij

31 August 2006 @ 7:04 am

I stumbled on this website by chance and wanted to add my comments to the fiery words of stephane lee. I am myself a state scholar and am currently studying in london. People do not realise that laureates wishing to work and live abroad are actually more helpful than those coming back. The job market in mauritius is very restrained. An engineer for instance, would find his skills heavily under-utilised in the engineering companies operating in Mauritius, the reason being that advanced engineering operations are not carried out in the island. This is true of many disciplines, except perhaps in the financial sector. The experience these scholars gather abroad can be more effectively employed when they come back (many come back to Mauritius after 10/15 years), namely in the creation of new companies and educational development.
Having said all that, it is perhaps ironic that Mauritian expats should blame their counterparts for not living and working in Mauritius. Perhaps do they only think mauritian when they are away, in which case they should rid themselves of their artificial patriotism and stupid comments . . .

Comment by Stéphane Lee

31 August 2006 @ 11:07 pm

To: Vij

Thanks for your comments. My point is not that people go and stay abroad. It is about people being paid to go abroad and not returning as per their contract. This money could be spend in more productive ways.

Personally, I do a lot of business in Mauritius.

Comment by Brian

12 November 2006 @ 10:27 pm

To Stephane Lee
About the article:
You said all expenses are paid by the govt. Do you know that for almost half of the laureates this is not true. They get a limited amount which, often, does not even cover the tuition fees, let alone air tickets, accomodation and all the rest. Will they recover the money paid by their parents or pay back any loan if they come back to Mauritius? Are they guaranteed a job? If yes, will the salary be enough to cover the ever increasing cost of living of their family and at the same time reimburse a possibly enormous amount? After all, will the country benefit if a laureate has his house seized by the bank?

Concerning those laureates who do not have to spend a
penny, I agree wholly with stephane.

Comment by Beeraj

6 April 2009 @ 6:44 pm

I agree with your request for laureates to be indebted to their country. At the same time, I also understand for them not to come back. My short experience:

Based on loan money, I struggled for 7 years of my life away from my family, friends, etc, and finally got my MSc. As a good patriot I returned to serve my country. Result: I remained unemployed for 2 years. During this time people whisper lots of rubbish that something must be wrong with me (I have full SC, HSC & MSc-recognised by UNESCO, I studied the full of 7 years with no time for merry). I got many interviews (>10) at the PSC but was always unsuccessful – several of my interviewers had qualifications INFERIOR to mine. I finally got job in a substandard secondary school and spent 10 years there – my head of department has a diploma which is often against the rule. Challenging this means . Raising your voice implies legal implication challenging the whole system that continues maintaining such people on post. Challenging can result into losing the job. I now want to leave for abroad and advise none to return if he/she gets a better opportunity