School Drop-outs Who Didn’t Fall Behind

Carnet Hebdo

By Nita Chicooree-Mercier

They both had a clear idea of what they did not want in their teens. The first young man owns a truck and delivers mainly construction materials in the north. He jumps off the truck and, after a polite greeting and a smile, starts carrying pockets of cement on his shoulder and puts them down on the floor.
“A scorching sun today. You are wearing no hat,” I observe.
“I do wear a cap sometimes. I’m used to the heat,” he answers.

It seems the younger generation of workers are more casual and open in their interaction with customers. “I’ve been working since the age of 19,” he adds. “I’m 35 now and will get married soon. I’m still strong, but I know I won’t be able to do this for long. In five years, I’ll be done with it.”

The smiling young man looks satisfied with his life. His parents insisted on keeping him within the educational system, but he knew he would never meet the standards to carry on till the end. He was happy to give it all up at 16 and did some odd jobs. “I like working on my own. Sometimes I get some help. Young ones don’t stick to such manual jobs; they come, get paid, and next time, they just disappear.”

“Help yourself to some guavas,” I suggest. He politely picks one. His day starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 4, almost non-stop. With other deliveries on the list, he has no time to gulp down a fresh drink.

What are the requirements for such jobs? Substantial savings by parents, the Development Bank to prop up the project, a driving licence, good health and muscles. Is there any economist or sociologist doing a follow-up of specific categories of workers with more than one job in a lifetime? Often, life and work experiences embolden them to acquire different skills and venture into a totally different field of work.

Needless to mention that parental support and financial help provide the basic requirements for school dropouts with some ambition of being self-employed. A clear idea of how they can help build their kids’ future and ensure sufficient savings is what helps some parents set youngsters on the right path and avoid seeing them idling away aimlessly. Living from day to day and squandering all the wages at the end of the week with barely any savings left is what makes life an endless struggle for others. It all boils down to a matter of lifestyle choices.

Same story with the other young man in his early twenties. School was not his cup of tea. Teachers bugged him, books bugged him, and writing English or French was a nightmare. “I was happy to drop out. I really didn’t like learning and writing, and all that stuff. Finally, my parents went along with it.” He shunned school altogether.

A bank promoting entrepreneurship, strong muscles and a will to make something of your life provide the basic requirements to keep young adults afloat when white-collar jobs are out of reach.

The truck unloaded its bulk of rock sand by just activating an automatic device. The sun came crashing down. “Hard day?” I asked. “I’m okay with it,” he answered with a broad smile, “I’m young for the time being, but I know I’m not going to do this for years.” He also transports furniture and other heavy stuff.

These are ordinary people who are quite happy with the choice they made in their early adult life. No pain, no gain. Simply realistic, they use their abilities to eke out a living today, and the coming years will give them time to develop different skills and seize other opportunities. No complaining, no whining, no one bossing them around. A pragmatic approach that does not bring grist to the mill of outdated ideology which holds that failure in education is due solely to narrow success criteria, and that the solution is to change the rules to include more people, according to ideologues and well-wishers.

How much do they make per month in the self-employed transport business? Five to six deliveries a day covering several villages in one region can bring a net profit of 4 to 5 thousand rupees a day. A six-day week amounts to approximately Rs 20,000 even if there are fewer deliveries. Is it big money? Yes, by local standards and even compared to higher-income countries.

Quick bucks are gained through illicit drug trafficking, embezzlement of funds, hefty commissions or if you’re very good at betting and trying your luck at the Stock Exchange.

A tiler from Terre Rouge has set up his own company and employs mostly relatives, as is often the case today in small companies where sons, brothers, and nephews are employed before outsiders. A phenomenon observable across the island, from Cap Malheureux to Rose-Hill. Rapid development in the construction business leads small enterprises to adopt the same rules as big companies. They charge per square foot or square metre, which is quite a headache to the average Mauritian customer. Their employees get fair wages, and the work is done properly in due time. This time the tiler was asked to do some masonry work and fencing. Since his relatives wanted to chill out after Easter, he came alone on a Monday.

(Can any linguist or sociologist explain why a week after official Easter, another celebration is named Qasimodo? First time I heard it. The only Qasimodo we know is Victor Hugo’s hunchback in Notre Dame de Paris. It must be a tribute to the special attention the Divine gives to suffering and poverty, celebrated in merry-making, loud music, and food galore on the beach of Mon Choisy.)

Well, plastering one side of a 20-metre wall and a three-feet fence on top of it is charged Rs 24,000. It is considered a reasonable price for two and a half days’ work. A pretty good sum that provides for rainy days. In 2013, there were small companies with no business contracts for nine months. Needless to anticipate the disaster a deflation in the construction boom would entail today. Again, masons and tilers encounter serious joint pains and knee damage over the years and have to turn to other options later in life.

The key point for any country that strives to raise the general level of education is how much general knowledge youngsters who choose to drop out should acquire by age 16. From what we observe, those fluent in Bhojpuri and Hindi connect to the outside world mainly via Indian videos on the internet. Basic English and French are a secondary means of information. However, lack of general knowledge may be a handicap in avoiding the traps of propaganda and fake news.

The point is, however, successful and financially well-off a large section of independent workers may be without completing a full cycle of education, the ability to discern and develop critical thinking remains a constant challenge — even to the educated ones who may lead society astray with misguided policies.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 30 May 2025