CPE: Bilingual Questionnaires Raised Questions

"This is madness ..." The teacher Dev Virahsawmy does not embrace the decision of the Ministry of Education, which proposes to prepare questionnaires in English and French for the next tests in science and mathematics Certificate of Primary Education (CPE). 

He explained that normally the medium of instruction should be the spoken language of children, but in Mauritius, he adds, the language of instruction is English, used for questionnaires. "It is difficult for children when it is in English. By adding the French, it will be even more complicated. In one system, the minister wants to put two teaching mediums. This is an extraordinary aberration " he said. Rather, it proposes a reform of language policy instead of this proposal, which "weigh down the system."

Same story on the side of the opposition, the member MMM Steven Obeegadoo calls this measure of "senseless". "Teachers are not trained and elsewhere, textbooks are not French.Parents and teachers do not understand " , he said.

Vinod Seegum, president of the Government Teachers' Union also asserts that the faculty rejected the proposal. He is convinced that the failure rate increases. "Students will neglect the English language. In doing so, there is a risk that they fail in this regard. In addition, some technical terms are difficult to translate into French, " he says. The union says that if the Ministry of Education wants to increase the success rate, it will consider other options, such as "review the system of automatic promotion and encourage the training of teachers."

Lucien Finette meanwhile believes it is important that everyone gives his opinion on the subject. "In any action, there is good and bad ... Maybe in French, the child will understand more easily certain concepts if his level of English is not very good, " he said.