Infos | Schooling in Mauritius

It is one of Mauritius' greatest strengths as a country of expatriation.
Indeed, built on a rich history, the island was first French and then English, retaining the influence of these two cultures in its current identity. While free public education is based on the Anglo-Saxon system, many private schools are attached to the French national education system. Higher education is also guaranteed in the public sector with the University of Mauritius or in the private sector with an increasing number of foreign universities opening branches in Mauritius.

Public education

The Mauritian education system is divided into four phases: pre-primary for children aged 3 to 5 years, primary from 5 to 11 years, secondary for the next seven years and finally, tertiary, for those who want to pursue higher education. The numerous free government schools are found throughout the island. Although sometimes co-educational, they are usually girls-only or boys-only and require the use of uniforms.

Their students follow the Anglo-Saxon curriculum which ends with the High School Certificate, the results of which are managed by the University of Cambridge. For higher education, the University of Mauritius, located in the center of the island at Réduit, has seven faculties for as many orientations. These include Agriculture, Engineering, Communication, Law and Management, Medicine and Health Sciences, Science and finally Social Sciences and Humanities.

Private education

If you want a French or international education, you will have to turn to fee-based private schools.

The French system is widely represented in Mauritius by several schools/colleges/lycées under the agreement of the French National Education. The oldest one, the Lycée La Bourdonnais is located in Curepipe. It starts from kindergarten and goes up to the general and technological, Terminale. The Ecole du Centre-Collège Pierre Poivre which goes from kindergarten to 9th grade and the Lycée des Mascareignes are both located in Moka. The Ecole du Nord in Mapou offers primary and secondary education and the Ecole Paul et Virginie in Tamarin in the west offers kindergarten to CM2.

Schools offering an international program offer a variety of diplomas, all of which are recognized abroad. The oldest and probably the most prestigious is Le Bocage International School in Moka, which takes students from Form 1 to Form 7. In the north, the most notable are Northfields International High School, International Preparatory School and Lighthouse Primary and Secondary School. In the center, in addition to Bocage, there is also Clavis International Primary School, Morning Star School and Hampton School. In the west, there is Westcoast International Secondary School.

In recent years, under the impetus of the authorities to make Mauritius a learning hub, several international universities have opened branches. Numerous campuses have been integrated into real estate developments such as the Médine Education Village in Cascavelle, the Université des Mascareignes Islands and the African Leadership College in Beau Plan or the Charles Telfair Campus in Moka. The Médine Education Village offers a variety of programs in association with leading universities. These include the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas for legal studies, ENSA Nantes for architecture, Vatel for hotel studies, Middlesex University, the MCB Institute of Finance, and the Central de Nantes School. The MCCI Business School located in Ebène is in partnership with the Reunion Rectorate and the Lycée La Bourdonnais and offers BTS and bachelor's degrees focused on marketing, management, information technology as well as work-study programs in banking and insurance.

All of the private schools and universities listed in this article offer a quality of education that allows them to be recognized by the academies to which they are attached. In addition, most of them offer modern infrastructures and quality equipment to provide students with the best learning conditions. From a material and practical point of view, Mauritius is a perfect expatriation destination for families who are concerned about providing their children with a quality education. But the most beneficial aspect will certainly be the mix of cultures and origins of the students which will allow the youngsters to grow up with the knowledge of "the other" and to open them to the world of tomorrow more than any school in their country of origin.

Non-exhaustive list of the main schools, colleges, high schools and universities in Mauritius