Speech - LAUNCHING OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF LEARNING
REGIONAL FOCAL POINTS MEETING FOR AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN.
·
Dr
the Honourable Bunwaree, Minister of Education and Human Resources,
·
Prof
Asha Kanwar, President and Chief Executive Officer of COL
·
Mr
Vis Naidoo, Vice Chancellor of COL
·
Dr
Kodhandaraman Balasubramanian, Education Specialist- Agriculture and
Livelihoods
·
Dr
Godson Gatsha, Education Specialist- Higher Education
·
Focal
Points of COL from Africa and Mediterranean
·
Chairpersons
and heads of tertiary education institutions,
·
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
It is a pleasure
for me to be here this morning for the opening ceremony of this Regional Focal
Points meeting which is being organised for the second time in Mauritius.
Between the
first meeting held in 2011 and the present one, within a lapse of two years,
there has been a major development in the field of open and distance learning
in Mauritius. We have now a full-fledged Open University.
This development highlights the special importance given
by Government to widening opportunities in education and making use of the
latest technologies to bring education within the reach of the people,
especially women and vulnerable groups.
The Mauritian Government has outlined a vision to
develop the country into a knowledge based economy by 2025 and we are striving
to achieve this goal by creating new campuses in the country, encouraging
partnerships with international universities, and attracting international
students to Mauritius. Right now, three new buildings are under construction in
three different places of the island. These campuses will provide modern
facilities for higher education. Partnerships have been established with
renowned universities such as University of Aberdeen, University of Oxford, University
of Geneva, ESSEC, ESCP, Science PO, Universite de Bordeaux, Universite de
Limoges, Central st Martins, UK just to name a few. We are discussing with
George Washinton University, University of Delaware and Virgina Tech of USA.
The Open University has already started
building its reputation as a prime open education provider, with more than 70%
female enrolment in its programmes. It has been provided with two additional
campus buildings to run its programmes. The Prime Minister personally performed
the inauguration ceremony of one of the buildings, showing his clear
determination to make higher education accessible to all.
The Open University has also benefited from the
collaboration of the Commonwealth of Learning for the “Commonwealth Executive
Master of Business Administration” and “Commonwealth Executive Master of Public
Administration” programmes. These two courses have been contributing to the
professional growth and career advancement of the learners.
Within our efforts to promote open learning and access
to educational materials, we have introduced WI FI throughout the campus of two public universities and are in the process
of developing an e-library platform to enable students to access academic publications
and journals online. The Open University is also participating in the Pan
African E-Network launched by the Government of India and plans to set up study
centres in African countries
We intend to
pursue such efforts to consider mobile technology for learning. As such we support the creation of an Open
Education Resources platform with the collaboration of all the tertiary
education institutions and will develop an Open Learning Policy for the higher
education sector.
Before I
conclude, as we have in our midst the senior staffs of the Commonwealth of
Learning, I wish to inform you that the Government of Mauritius is offering 50 scholarships to African students
for undergraduate studies in our public tertiary education institutions in
Mauritius. I invite you to ensure that
the nominations for these scholarships are sent from your country. The detailed
guidelines have been included in your files.
I cannot end my
speech without expressing our sincere appreciation to Prof Kanwar and her team
for their continued support and for proposing Mauritius as a venue for this
meeting. The Commonwealth of Learning has been instrumental in the development
of open and distance learning in Mauritius and in the setting up of the Open
University.
I welcome all
the delegates and recommend that you find some time to visit and enjoy the
Mauritian scenery and environment.
Let me end by wishing
you a fruitful deliberation.
Ladies and
Gentlemen, thank you for your kind attention.
