UPSEE Holds Round Table on Education in collaboration with University of Mauritius Staff union
19.12.2022
The union of Private Secondary Education Employees (UPSEE) held a Round Table to focus on the role of teachers in ensuring fine education for all. The theme the union chose acts like a beacon during these dark times of a down-turn in workers’ class consciousness, a beacon that lights the way forward for service-industry workers. It makes us focus on the subject of the nature of the “education” that teachers give. It is rare, at this moment in Mauritian history, for a union to concentrate on this kind of subject. The focus is often on work conditions only and for their own sector only. The precise formulation of the title of the Round Table was: “Teachers in Focus: Implementation of an Equitable, Inclusive Quality Education for All (U.N. Sustainable Development Goal Number 4) in Mauritius”.
The event was held at the auditorium in the University of Mauritius CORE building in Ebene on Monday 12 December, and in collaboration with the University of Mauritius Staff Association. There were some ten different guest speakers, with the UPSEE executive Committee members, themselves, taking humble roles, with the President Arvind Bhojun giving a fine summary at the end, for example, of how the UPSEE had seen the Round Table. There were some 75 teachers present, and the questions and discussion in the one hour session at the end were lively. The entire Round Table was ably presided over by Prof Vinayagum Chinapah, who is a former director of the Swedish Institute of International Education: Department of Education as well as former Director of UNESCO’s “Monitoring and Evaluation of Education”. He presided as member of UPSEE’s Consultative Committee.
LALIT member Lindsey Collen, who was one of the founders of the union in 1976, was amongst the speakers. Others included politicians, education experts, a union leader via Zoom from South Africa, and two secondary school students who gave their view from the “receiving end” of the education given.
In her five-minute speech, Lindsey Collen touched on some of the following points (we have taken this from the notes to which she spoke):
She began by referring to the student uprising of 1975 which gave birth, inter alia, to the union UPSEE, and adding that 45 years later, with the existential threat to the environment and with a threat of nuclear war, more than ever it is necessary for all students to learn how to think creatively.
“Avek 5 minit pu fokes lor rol profeser, sirtu rol sindika profeser, dan implemantasyon enn ledikasyon ekitab, ot nivo, inkliziv - kuma Nasyon Zini vize - ena vreman enn sel pwin mo pu fer. Se sa ki pu marse. Samem pu rann ledikasyon meyer pu tu etidyan – san exsepsyon – e li pu rann travay profeser enn plezir, plito ki enn fardo.
“Mo koz, antan ki enn fondater sindika UPSEE, antan ki enn ekrivin bileng, e antan ki Lalit.”
She said that she grew up in Apartheid South Africa, and if at that time and over there, she had been asked what would most help to address this theme of quality education for all, she would have had to look outside the education system, beyond it, and say what is necessary is for us all to struggle to get rid of Apartheid. Today, here in Mauritius, there is a need for such a change – from outside the education system.
“Ledikasyon bizin dan langaz ki zanfan koze,” she said, “dan so lakaz, dan so landrwa, dan labutik ek sipermarse, dan bis, dan metro, dispanser, lapos, fet familyal, lor laplenn futborl, lor lapist danse. Alor nu devwar pu sa vinn vre, se pu litepu introdiksyon imedya ledikasyon baze lor langaz maternel, lediksyon ki viz milti-lingwis. Kifer? Pa akoz UNESCO dir li. E li dir li. Pa akoz tu pedagog dan lemond dir li. E zot dir li. Pa akoz rezilta meyer sak lane dan pei Skandinav ki pratik ledikasyon baze lor langaz maternel ki viz milti-lingwism.
“Kifer?
“Parski nu refleksyon, nu servo, nu travay kognitif, li fonksyone, e li fonksyone natirelman, dan nu langaz maternel. Samem kifer.
“Langaz nu servi tulezur, li pa zis nu mwayin kominike. Li sa osi. Me, li nu fason reflesi. Li nu zuti, antan ki imin, kuma enn templeyt, pu reprezant lemond otur de nu: seki nu truve, tande, santi, tate, gute. Nu reprezant tu seki andeor de nu atraver nu langaz dan nu latet. Manyer bann mo organize, nu exprim seki fini pase, seki pe pase, seki pu pase dan lavenir, seki kondisyonel, seki sir-sir, seki ape-pre. Nu osi reprezant tu seki andan nu leker: nu lemosyon, nu konpran li atraver templeyt langaz maternel, dan nu servo: nu organiz li dan nu latet lor enn templeyt ki apel nu langaz maternel: nu lazwa, nu traka, nu stres, nu tristes, nu lakoler, nu angwas, nu kontantman. Nu kapav mem reprezant dan nu prop latet, atraver langaz maternel, seki nu panse. Kuma asterla nu pe fer: tu dimunn pe ekut mwa, e mo pe dir zafer byin konplike, e zot sorti direk enn templeyt lingwistik dan mo latet, e tutafe natirelman, zot pe match li ar zot templeyt lingwistik, pe fer lespri travay, zot dekod sinifikasyon seki mo pe dir.
“Li nu fason natirel, biolozik – nu gayn li atraver evolisyon sppiyshiz - pu fer lespri travay atraver langaz. Kan devlop li ziska top nivo – par fer tu size atraver langaz maternel, oral ek ekrit – pu Moris li Kreol pu 90% zanfan dapre Resansman 2022 – lerla lesafodaz fini kree ziska ot nivo. Li fasil, e li neseser zordizur, pu ariv mem nivo dan lezot langaz.
“Alor, fode tu sistem ledikasyon – an antye – konverti, e byin vit – an Kreol kuma medyom. Liv an Kreol, sipor Profeser an Kreol, lexame an Kreol. Ot nivo.
“Sinon, so koroler, ki grav.
“Kan nu siprim langaz maternel dan lekol – kuma nu fer dan Moris depi lepok kolonyal vini-mem, nu pe fer ditor zanfan, tu zanfan – seki briyan, kuma seki lant, seki zeni, kuma seki bizin buku sutyin pu aprann.
“Finn deza an 2009, ena enn Hearing Internasyonal lor Ditor ki Fer kan Siprem Langaz Maternel dan Lekol (par interdir li dan text, par remark dezoblizan, par libreri ki pena liv an Kreol), kot ziri internasyonal finn statye ki sipresyon Kreol ek Bhojpuri dan lekol li fer trwa kalite ditor:
“- ditor kognitif (liv syans, par exanp, bizin enn nivo byin ba pu ki zanfan konpran li); tu sibtilite perdi dan enn langaz extern ki inpoze.
“- ditor emosyonel (u pe suzantand ki zanfan la inferyer, akoz u pe azir kumsidire so langaz inferyer).
“- ditor kiltirel (u pe suzestim so kiltir, e pu umem kuma prof osi)
“Alor, mo propoze ki UPSEE kumans enn refleksyon parmi tu so manb lor kimanyer azir pu ki polisi guvernman sanze: langaz maternel vinn medyom. Kumsa ledikasyon ot nivo, ekitab, inklizif pu inplemante. E pu profeser, abe li pu rann nu travay enn veritab plezir.”
Conclusion
We put on record that the Minister of Education Ms Dhookun, though invited to speak, was not present. Kadress Pillay was also not present. The other speakers present included Sheila Bunwaree, Chandan Jankee, Mahend Gungapersad, Toolsee Mudalli, Dr. Rajayswar Bhowon, Bhojeparsad Jhugdamby, and the two students, Grace Fra and Louis Mathieu.
