This statement was made by the minister of Education and Human Resources, Dr Vasant Bunwaree at an event held on Wednesday at Gold Crest Hotel, Quatre Bornes.
This was organised by the General Purpose Teachers Union (GPTU) in the context of World Teachers’ Day.
“We are coming up with a concept paper just like we did with the prevocational sector. The paper, which is almost complete, will be presented to all stakeholders,” said the education minister.
“ A forum is expected to be organised after the CPE exams whereby concerned parties will have the opportunity to share their ideas and make suggestions,” he explained.
He also intends to organise a second forum later to find the most ideal solutions to address the weaknesses in the CPE system.
“A student needs to have 30 per cent to pass a subject but he needs to have 35 per cent to pass CPE. I do not understand this logic,” he said.
Professor Lucien Finette, director of Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) welcomes this initiative.
“The MES is participating actively in this forum and we welcome the reforms in the system. We have already submitted our suggestions,” he stated.
Jimmy Harmon, head of Applied Pedagogy at Institut Cardinal Jean Margéot said, “It is high time that CPE, which dates back to 1980, is reviewed.”
Before CPE, primary education was saddled with two end-of-year examinations the Primary School Leaving Certificate and the Junior Scholarship.
After six years, the children were competing for 200 seats.
CPE was introduced for the same reasons it is decried, for being highly competitive and causing stress to students, parents and teachers.
Children are enrolled in primary school from the age of five, enter Standard I and automatically move to Standard VI.
On the strength of the CPE results, the students are channelled, following a grading system, to secondary schools.