 | |
National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy - Mauritius
Source: Ministry of Education and Scientific Research
The Certificate of Primary Education results over the last ten years show that too many pupils do not obtain a CPE after completing six years of primary schooling and hence do not acquire the minimum acceptable national standards in literacy and numeracy to cope with the exigencies of the modern world and for continuing education. It is not acceptable that, after having spent six years in primary school, many children cannot read and write properly a simple sentence and cannot perform simple arithmetic exercises.
To address the above problem and issue, The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy has been developed. The NL & NS was introduced on an experimental basis in all the primary schools of the Republic of Mauritius in June 2003. Year 2004 will still be a pilot year for the project until its finalization in January 2005. The NL & NS is being introduced to help every child leaving primary school to be numerate and be able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. This is yet another initiative which is in line with the education reform project of the Ministry. One of the missions of the Ministry of Education & Scientific Research is to ensure that all pupils leaving primary school attain minimum standards in Literacy and Numeracy.
The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy is being developed for the benefit of all ability groups in a class with sufficient challenging tasks for the high flyers. It has been developed to ensure that there is continuing improvement in each pupil’s literacy and numeracy throughout the period of his/her school education. It has been developed from within a thorough understanding of current research in the field and is based on information collected on the strengths and weaknesses of the literacy and numeracy strategy in different countries.
Educational Authorities in such countries as England, Australia, New Zealand are confident that this initiative will help go a long way towards achieving national targets in Literacy and Numeracy. In England, where the Literacy and Numeracy "hour" has been implemented, significant improvements have been noted in the test results of primary schools. The same results have been noted in New Zealand and Australia.
The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy has, therefore, been initiated and planned on the findings and experience associated with similar projects in the above mentioned countries.
This is based on:
Children’s learning and thinking strategies in languages and mathematics at an early stage.
Effective identification of and response to children’s learning needs;
Professional development programmes for quality assurance.
Effective implementation and scientific monitoring.
The underlying philosophy behind the Ministry of Education’s Literacy and Numeracy Project is that teachers are key figures in changing the way in which languages and Mathematics are taught and learned in schools. The success of this Project depends largely on teachers who are key stakeholders in the process of educational reform. To make this possible, the school time has been extended by 25 minutes a day and the 125 minutes per week available are devoted entirely to the adoption of a differential pedagogy in achieving the objectives of the National Literacy & Numeracy Strategy.
In the school timetable, slots for Literacy (3 x 25 mins) and Numeracy (2 x 25 mins) appear clearly to ensure better monitoring and assessment. For Literacy, English and French alternate in a continuous slot of 75 minutes / week.
A series of interactive workshops and briefing sessions are being organized for the benefit of teachers during which, they will collectively generate a set of strategies for the Literacy and Numeracy Project.
To supplement these sessions, the "Open Learning mode" is envisaged with the support of the Mauritius College of the Air (MCA) and the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). This will be followed by continuous monitoring until its final implementation Nationwide as from January 2005.
A booklet entitled "Guidelines for teachers" is available which outlines the philosophy of the Project and the different strategies which the Ministry of Education & Scientific Research is adopting to achieve the prescribed objectives laid down for the National Literacy and Numeracy Project. These booklets provide exemplars of lessons in Literacy and Numeracy at all levels of primary schooling in Mauritius. The print materials are supported by a set of video cassettes available in all the schools showing examples of best practice in Literacy and Numeracy pedagogy across the Standards.
Early Diagnostic Tool/Benchmarking
The Ministry of Education and Scientific Research in collaboration with the Research & Development Section of the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) and the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) is currently working on an Early Diagnostic Tool for Literacy and Numeracy all levels of primary schooling. An early diagnosis exercise by the class teacher is vital for the success of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. All teachers will be trained to use that tool effectively. Level Benchmarks will also be devised as checklists to be used by teachers.
During school vacations, further training sessions for practicing teachers will be conducted on differential pedagogy and on the process of diagnosis to identify mixed abilities in Literacy and Numeracy and on benchmarking.
Link with Overseas Institutions
During the period October-November 2003, a team of resource persons with experience and expertise in Literacy and Numeracy pedagogy from Australia, United Kingdom and from Reunion Island were on official missions to the Ministry. They interacted with the Project Manager, with members of the Technical Committees, members of the Steering Committee and conducted workshops with School Inspectors and Head Teachers mainly. This link with overseas Institutions will be strengthened in 2004.
[Top]