The significant role of the Mauritian Creole in uniting the various segments of the nation was at the forefront of the speech of the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, this afternoon, at The Core in Ebène. He was participating at the launching of a Symposium on the Mauritian Creole, organised by the Ministry of Tourism in the context of the 2022 Edition of the ‘Festival Kiltir Ek Langaz Kreol Morisien’.
The Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Eddy Boissézon; the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, and Minister of Tourism, Mr Steven Obeegadoo; the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun; other Ministers; Members of Parliament, and other eminent personalities were present at the event.
According to Mr Jugnauth, the Mauritian Creole not only acted as a bridge across the Republic among the people of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and the Chagos Archipelagos, but also served as a link between the various groups of African, Asian and European ancestries. “The Mauritian Creole is a means of social cohesion and communication, enabling shared respect, comprehension and education, and has been at the centre of our history,” he added.
The advancement of the Mauritian Creole from its beginnings to its formal recognition as well as its introduction and teaching in schools was highlighted by the Prime Minister. He stated that as from 2023, the Mauritian Creole would be offered in the School Certificate examinations, and subsequently, in 2025, students would be able to sit for the Mauritian Creole at the Higher School Certificate.
As for the introduction of the Mauritian Creole in the National Assembly, Mr Jugnauth affirmed that there were certain requirements and preconditions which would have to be met for the language to be used in the proceedings therein. These are namely the mastery of the Mauritian Creole by Members and relevant staff of the National Assembly, and the technical requirements.
As for the Deputy Prime Minister, he recalled that the latest population census indicated that 90% of the population spoke the Mauritian Creole. He recalled the great stride made by the Mauritian Creole from its development at the time of slavery and the stigmatisation attached to the use of the language to the adoption of a harmonised version and its introduction in primary and secondary schools’ curricula.
For her part, Vice-Prime Minister Dookun-Luchoomun spoke of the different steps that had led to the introduction and teaching of the Mauritian Creole in schools and its assessments at the level of the Primary School Achievement Certificate and National Certificate of Education, and soon at the School Certificate in 2023.
Moreover, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun dwelt on the setting-up of the Akademi Kreol Repiblik Moris in May 2019 under the aegis of her Ministry to follow up on the development and use of the Creole language in the Republic of Mauritius. She underscored that one of the main objectives of the Academy was to develop further the orthography, grammar, lexicon, usage and norms of Mauritian Creole and to promote its usage.
The Vice-Prime Minister informed that the Akademi Kreol Repiblik Moris, in collaboration with the University of Mauritius (UOM) and the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), had already run several language courses in Mauritian Creole for adults. She commended the contributions and efforts as well of both the UOM and the MIE in promoting the Mauritian Creole.
It is recalled that the 2022 Edition of the ‘Festival Kiltir Ek Langaz Kreol Morisien’ kicked off on Saturday 03 December 2022 at the Mahebourg Waterfront with the traditional regatta, a culinary and artisan exhibition and a concert.
