{"id":42669,"date":"2025-03-21T19:02:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T15:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=42669"},"modified":"2025-03-28T21:25:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:25:50","slug":"education-reform-a-question-of-leadership-resolve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/education-reform-a-question-of-leadership-resolve\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Reform: A Question of Leadership Resolve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opinion<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

By Jan Arden<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A recent interview of Dr Mahend Gungapersad, Minister of Education and Human Resources, which appeared in Le Defi<\/em> on 8th March this year, has raised eyebrows in many government quarters and yet it should not have.\u00a0 After all, his doctorate in Education is believed to be about Leadership in Education.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 l\u00e0. <\/em>Mon r\u00f4le, en tant que leader, est d\u2019apprendre \u00e0 travailler avec eux”<\/em>, conclut-il.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s obfuscation. A resourceful Labour Party campaigner in Constituency No. 6, he was well-positioned to succeed his predecessor.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, recruited and entrenched over 10 years in the institutions (Education House, MIE, MES, PSEA\u2026) now under his stewardship.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a previous interview on 1st of December 2024, the Minister will not bear us grudge for quoting him: <\/span>
\n\u00ab Nous devons concr\u00e9tiser les engagements pris dans notre manifeste \u00e9lectoral. <\/em>Cela inclut la mise en place de crit\u00e8res de 3 cr\u00e9dits pour acc\u00e9der en Grade 12, ainsi que le remplacement du Extended Programme par un cursus mieux adapt\u00e9 aux besoins sp\u00e9cifiques de nos enfants. Il est \u00e9galement essentiel de lutter contre des fl\u00e9aux tels que l’indiscipline, la violence scolaire, la drogue, le d\u00e9crochage scolaire et le harc\u00e8lement. Parall\u00e8lement, je compte m’attaquer \u00e0 la question du bien-\u00eatre des \u00e9l\u00e8ves, ainsi que de l’ensemble du personnel \u00e9ducatif, afin de cr\u00e9er un environnement propice \u00e0 l’\u00e9panouissement de chacun. \u00bb<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019ll follow!) and that good leaders may adapt style and thrust depending on circumstances to achieve their ends. We trust last week\u2019s 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\u2019s general elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Radical reforms in the education sector need leaders and change drivers who can cast aside hangers-on, friends, \u00abcollers d\u2019affiches \u00bb<\/em>, colleagues and mentors past their usefulness, and bureaucrats who were never willingly going to acknowledge \u00ab we messed up, Sir!\u00bb<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Municipal elections: A long-overdue democratic test <\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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”<\/em>) — 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s citizens.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indian Ocean Commission Summit: Will 2025 be the turning point for food security?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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: “S\u00e9curit\u00e9 et souverainet\u00e9 alimentaires de l\u2019oc\u00e9an Indien” <\/em>(Food Security and Sovereignty in the Indian Ocean).<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

The Summit website announces this as \u00ab une \u00e9tape cruciale pour renforcer la coop\u00e9ration r\u00e9gionale et relever les d\u00e9fis communs qui fa\u00e7onnent l\u2019avenir de l\u2019Indianoc\u00e9anie \u00bb and will likely be attended by French President Macron before his trip to Reunion and Mauritius.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raisina Dialogue 2025: Geopolitics and the imperative of national security<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This year the focus was on national security with the West and India fielding their top national security chiefs, including USA\u2019s Tulsi Gabbard and India\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\n

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 21 March 2025<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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