The sixth campus of Polytechnics Mauritius Ltd (PML), the Ebène Campus, nestled within the distinguished Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower was inaugurated, on Thursday 05 October 2023, in Ebène. The Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun, the Chairperson of PML, Professor Theesan Bahorun, the Chief Executive Officer of PLM, Mr Yamal Matabudul, and other personalities were present.
Vice Prime Minister stated that the Ebène Campus stands as the PML epicentre for IT and emerging technologies including robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and game development, with over 1100 students. It has been set up in line with government’s vision to manifest high-quality technical education in Mauritius, she said.
She observed that the new campus is an indication of the long way PML has travelled over the years from 72 students in 2017 to 3600 students presently. PML, she underlined, is instrumental in providing top classes technical education in Mauritius so that the youth can opt for high caliber technical education.
The Vice Prime Minister pointed out that technical education has occupied less importance compared to academic education over the years. Polytechnics is well equipped to train skilled professionals in IT, tourism, hospitality, and nursing aligned with government’s vision to give a new impetus to high quality technical education in Mauritius thus enabling the youth to be career and future ready.
Speaking on the various policy reforms on education reform agenda, she highlighted that the aim is to adopt a more expansive and holistic education framework so that no student is left behind in the face of globalisation and industry 5.0.
Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun underscored that education has taken an unprecedented significance serving as a cornerstone for individual and societal progress. She stressed the need to equip learners with new work models. The acquisition of diverse skills set such as critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability and versatility in view of the rapid technological advancement is a prerequisite, she underpinned.
Nevertheless, she indicated that the development of academic education remains fundamental and at the same time skills that foster creativity, and entrepreneurship is necessary to ensure that every child is valued.
As for Mr Bahorun, he recalled that the first campus was established in 2017 highlighting that the PML is proud to inaugurate its sixth campus. Skilled workers are a must for the socio-economic development and digitalisation of the country and the PLM is geared towards achieving rapid employability by bringing a balance of innovative skills to support the manpower segment in several sectors, he underlined.
For his part, Mr Matabudul, pointed out that the PML aims to craft a high-skills ecosystem and provide upskilled, and reskilled persons to spearhead the development of the country into a knowledge-based and skill-driven economy. The PML currently offers 33 academic programs including newer areas like fintech, biotech and automation engineering that responds to industries needs as well as future demands, he added.
