Education Reform: A Question of Leadership Resolve

Opinion

By Jan Arden

A recent interview of Dr Mahend Gungapersad, Minister of Education and Human Resources, which appeared in Le Defi on 8th March this year, has raised eyebrows in many government quarters and yet it should not have.  After all, his doctorate in Education is believed to be about Leadership in Education.

In that interview, the Minister, having spent much of his early weeks on all media fronts, building consensus, persuading partners and stakeholders around the immediate changes while promising an April get-together to finalise government’s education reform program, blames part of his own administration for delays, feet-dragging and obstruction to his immediate measures, notably the five-credits and the Extended stream.

Asked how he will tackle that major issue and deal with such snipers, he avows an unexpected degree of helplessness that might have shocked many: “Ils seront toujours là. Mon rôle, en tant que leader, est d’apprendre à travailler avec eux”, conclut-il.

As a former rector of a secondary institution and the Labour Party and Opposition spokesperson on education, Dr Mahend Gungapersad actively contributed to the National Assembly’s grilling of Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, despite the loudspeaker’s obfuscation. A resourceful Labour Party campaigner in Constituency No. 6, he was well-positioned to succeed his predecessor.

He has been actively engaged on wide consultations on various issues, but he would or should have suspected more than anybody else the challenges the reform agenda of the Alliance du Changement would face from those MSM protégés, recruited and entrenched over 10 years in the institutions (Education House, MIE, MES, PSEA…) now under his stewardship.

In a previous interview on 1st of December 2024, the Minister will not bear us grudge for quoting him:
« Nous devons concrétiser les engagements pris dans notre manifeste électoral. Cela inclut la mise en place de critères de 3 crédits pour accéder en Grade 12, ainsi que le remplacement du Extended Programme par un cursus mieux adapté aux besoins spécifiques de nos enfants. Il est également essentiel de lutter contre des fléaux tels que l’indiscipline, la violence scolaire, la drogue, le décrochage scolaire et le harcèlement. Parallèlement, je compte m’attaquer à la question du bien-être des élèves, ainsi que de l’ensemble du personnel éducatif, afin de créer un environnement propice à l’épanouissement de chacun. »

We can all agree that leadership comes in various flavours and hues, ranging from the directive (batting from the front foot) to the consensus seeker (you lead, I’ll follow!) and that good leaders may adapt style and thrust depending on circumstances to achieve their ends. We trust last week’s quote was a misstatement of his inner feelings when, as Minister, he represents and is fully empowered to drive the change that was mandated by a 60-0 sweep at November’s general elections.

Radical reforms in the education sector need leaders and change drivers who can cast aside hangers-on, friends, «collers d’affiches », colleagues and mentors past their usefulness, and bureaucrats who were never willingly going to acknowledge « we messed up, Sir!»

Empower yourself, Minister, this is a major issue and not the time for handwringing. The country expects a driver of that change or you may unfortunately bear the cross that others will happily thrust upon you and, by the same token, discredit the Labour Party education policy.

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Municipal elections: A long-overdue democratic test

Overdue and postponed three times on the flimsiest of excuses, municipal elections are now scheduled for Sunday, May 4th. On that day, half the voting population will finally elect their councillors under existing legal provisions, with the notable exception of the first-ever same-day vote counting.

Democracy demands at least a contest from the current Opposition, including those who, until recently, ruled with a degree of arrogance. However, it remains doubtful whether the MSM kitchen cabinet (“La Kwisin”) — along with its former acolytes and accomplices, collectively responsible for dismantling democratic rights and spaces — would have any real appetite, willingness or enthusiasm for engaging with the concerns of the common people.

Meanwhile, though the wheels of justice may turn slowly, many of the bright stars, including Maneesh Gobin, Kavy Ramano, Renganaden Padayachy, the former Prime Minister himself and others, have yet to face investigative agencies over allegations of misconduct while in office.

On a parallel front, this week has seen the end of the high-level conspiracy to grant both the Champ de Mars racecourse and the larger part of the betting industry to J-M Lee Shim. Afficionados can be hugely relieved that normal horse racing can resume this season while the Champ de Mars can find its former glory for the benefit of the capital’s citizens.

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Indian Ocean Commission Summit: Will 2025 be the turning point for food security?

We note with interest that Madagascar will host the 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) on April 24, 2025, under a theme that should mobilize our active participation: “Sécurité et souveraineté alimentaires de l’océan Indien” (Food Security and Sovereignty in the Indian Ocean).

There have been several past attempts to expand food security in the region, some Mauritian agro-industrial investors have set foot in the island-continent, but overall, several problems and issues, notably political uncertainties, have impeded the full materialization of the potential. Can this summit lead to practical developments?

The Summit website announces this as « une étape cruciale pour renforcer la coopération régionale et relever les défis communs qui façonnent l’avenir de l’Indianocéanie » and will likely be attended by French President Macron before his trip to Reunion and Mauritius.

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Raisina Dialogue 2025: Geopolitics and the imperative of national security

On Mar 17, 2025, to Mar 19, 2025, India hosted the Raisina Dialogue which is the premier conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community and in the region. Every year, leaders in politics, business, media, and civil society converge in New Delhi to discuss the state of the world and explore opportunities for cooperation on a wide range of contemporary matters.

This year the focus was on national security with the West and India fielding their top national security chiefs, including USA’s Tulsi Gabbard and India’s NSA chief Ajit Doval. With our extended maritime zone in the Indian Ocean, the Chagos fate still in limbo, we expect that the opportunity for our participation, with meetings and personal contacts on the sidelines, will not have been missed.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 21 March 2025