The official start of the school year for our elementary and high school students will be this Tuesday, January 10, 2023. January 9th will be the day of admissions for Grade 1 and Grade 7.
Even though education is free, there is a cost to sending our children to school. School materials and uniforms are around Rs 1,000, then, of course, there is the school bag, shoes, etc. And we also have to take into account a budget for a dozen notebooks.
In primary school, textbooks are free in public schools. The state has been providing this assistance up to Grade 9 for the past few years. But from Grade 10 onwards, parents must pay for the textbooks. A textbook cost between Rs 300 and Rs 400 at least in bookstores. Considering that a Grade 10 student studies eight subjects, a budget of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 is required. In Grade 10, some students take lessons, and there is a budget for the textbooks used.
At the level of the authorities, a lot of work is also done beforehand. Moreover, during his wishes for 2023, the Minister of Education announced that the Mauritian education system will undergo major changes for the new year. “From pre-primary to secondary, the year 2023 will see the entry of new subjects for a more advanced program. We have reviewed the pre-primary curriculum to give children every chance to have a solid foundation that will enable them to have a good life course,” she said. The school is therefore intended to be a springboard for the future, from a very early age.SC and HSC
The results of the Cambridge A-Level (HSC for Mauritius) exams last November will be known on January 10. This is what the examiner announces on his website. However, it is unlikely that this date will also apply to Mauritius, as experience has shown that Mauritian candidates receive their results between two weeks and a month later, especially due to the preparation of the list of scholarship beneficiaries under the Laureate Scheme.
On the other hand, the O-Level (School Certificate for Mauritius) results, announced for January 18, may well concern Mauritian candidates. Usually, these results are communicated simultaneously in England, Mauritius and in the other countries where these exams have been taken.
It should also be remembered that the 2022 batch, whether for the O-Level or the A-Level, should have taken the exams in November 2021. With the change in the school calendar, the exams had been postponed once to June 2022 and then to November 2022.
Besides textbooks, uniforms are also expensive. The cost of a shirt for a student starts at Rs 250 and for pants or dresses at Rs 450. The price also changes according to the size.
Here is the school calendar for this year 2023
