Exploring the Debate of Free Public Tertiary Education in Mauritius

Abstract

This paper comes at the right moment when the Prime Minister of Mauritius declared on the 1st January 2019 that there would be free tertiary education in public universities of the country. This measure was instinctively considered as populist due to the imminence of forthcoming elections in the country and met with criticisms from various parties. Seen from a different perspective, the provision of free tertiary education in public universities might be a sequel to the already existing free education provided at the primary and secondary levels. This could be a right measure in the sense that education is extended up to the tertiary where the country might need graduates at a strategic level. There might be reservations like the high level of unemployment among the youth, around 30% and the need to find immediate measures to curb this problem. Otherwise, free university education has to become a well-framed concept today where it should prepare the youth to face the challenges of tomorrow in a world of constant evolution. The paper sums up with a perspective of university education after an analysis of the debate surrounding free tertiary education in Mauritius.