The Principal of Mauritius College has denied the accusations against him and the management of Mauritius College and deplores the fact that despite the situation that has arisen and the demonstrations, the management has not received a formal list of demands from the students and parents. The management believes that the Union of Private Secondary Education Employees (UPSEE) should not be involved in such demonstrations. Complaints have been filed by the management and further actions have been announced by Senior Attorney, Narendra Appajalah.
Plots and manipulations
The management of Maurtius College of both departments, Principal Rajmun, and Assistant Rectors, Mrs Jaypalsing and Mrs Ralochun were facing the press on Monday, accompanied by their recently retained lawyers. Benysing Rajmun spoke of a conspiracy and suspects that his critics have a hidden agenda. “Several people want to harm me and the institution. There have been several cases in the past. They want to tarnish the image of the institution and the people at its head,” he said. Speaking about the various Commissions of Enquiry by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment as well as the investigations conducted by the Private Secondary Education Authority, Director Rajmun announced that “all these investigations have been completed and these issues have already been resolved. Mauritius College is back in the news but in a negative way. What the media has published is not true! There are no formal grievances”
Uncomprehensive claims
The demonstrations continued in Curepipe on Monday morning and the police had to intervene again during the day. The students say they are waiting for an explanation and an apology from the Headmaster. But at a press conference at the Saint Georges Hotel in Port Louis, Benysing Rajmun denied having “made such remarks to this student. At Mauritius College, all races and religions are welcome since its inception in 1955. We don’t understand why they are protesting. We believe that they are being manipulated by other parties” and this was also supported by Me Appajalah. The Director spoke about the fact that “the UPSEE has nothing to do in such a demonstration. They are supposed to advocate for the employees and not the students.” Mr Appajalah advised no questions on the UPSEE as Benysing Rajmun had served a notice against the Union, more specifically against the President, Bhojeparsad Jhugdumbi, and the general secretary, Arvin Bhojun.
Referring to the protests that started last Thursday, he said, “We had meetings with the students, but we came out with nothing concrete.” He believes that the students are simply taking advantage of the situation to avoid going to class. “They are not really demonstrating, they are scattered playing volleyball, paddling, among others. Me Appajalah intervened to say that “the parents of all students, who do not want to return to class, will receive a letter,” he said, comparing the current situation at Mauritius College to a strike where all the participants have no real demands.
Unmanageable situation
The management of Mauritius College and Me Appajalah were not able to answer all the questions of the press on the cause of the demonstrations or the solutions to be adopted to put an end to these demonstrations and resume classes in the interest of the students, and a few days before the exams. However, Benysing Rajmun said that he will have a meeting with the Parents Teachers Association to understand the core of all these demonstrations on a pedagogical approach. The last resort will be the intervention of the authorities, including the PSEA and the Ministry of Education. However, Me Appajalah has already agreed that “the situation is unmanageable at Mauritius College. We are asking for the intervention of the authorities”.
