Students, parents, teachers and the general public are detained in a foggy territory. The dates for the release of the Cambridge exams are still uncertain. Those concerned by the SC and HSC results share different fears. Bhoseparsad Jhugdamby, the President of the Union of Private Secondary Education Employees, proposes alternative solutions.
DPM’s appeasement
The School Certificate results are due on 12 August. The Higher School Certificate results, on the other hand, are scheduled for 17 September. The only reassurance of the day from Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology, is that Cambridge will release a provisional HSC result exclusively to the concerned universities by 27 August to facilitate admissions’ process within the given deadline imposed by the universities. The results will remain confidential. The concerned students are called upon to fill in a form at the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate for the attention of Cambridge so that the institution can communicate these provisional results to the selected universities.
Repeater fees: Rs 15,910 for SC and Rs 17,505 for HSC
Everyone is affected but not with the same intensity. If the students who are waiting for the SC results are in the Lower Six with little interest or assurance since they can repeat, those waiting for the HSC results are unable to project whether they will proceed to a university or return to school as repeaters… For their grumbling parents, it is the financial concern… It should be noted that retaking the SC exams now costs Rs 12,046 for six subjects, for seven subjects, Rs 13,978 and for eight subjects, Rs 15,910. Those wishing to retake the HSC exams will have to pay Rs 17,505 for three main subjects and two subsidiary subjects (see tables below). It’s quite a pretty penny! The Ministry of Education and the government are keeping mum and are also waiting for the results, but too patiently! This is precisely what Bhoseparsad Jhugdamby, the President of the UPSEE, reproaches.
School Certificate (SC)
| Number of Subjets | Amount (in Rs) |
| 1 | 2 386 |
| 2 | 4 318 |
| 3 | 6 250 |
| 4 | 8 182 |
| 5 | 10 114 |
| 6 | 12 046 |
| 7 | 13 978 |
| 8 | 15 910 |
Higher School Certificate (HSC)
| Main | Subsidiary | Amount (in Rs) |
| 3 | 2 | 17 505 |
| 2 | 3 | 16 348 |
| 2 | 2 | 13 632 |
UPSEE – Questions all around
“Why such silence and lack of interest from the government? What is going to happen to the student who is already 20 years old and cannot repeat his or her SC? Will they lose yet another year and have to enrol in a paid private school ? Why do we expect SC students promoted to Lower Six to pay full attention to their classes when they are uncertain of their future? Is the ordeal of parents justified? Those who are going to repeat a year will have to pay if they want to progress in education, but those who are proceeding to a university are afraid of losing part of their first year and are especially afraid of not being able to pass that first year. Besides, who guarantees that the student will be able to integrate a university with all this upheaval related to Covid? The measures remained the same concerning the two or three A for university access or the 5 credits to be promoted in Lower Six!” so many questions asked by the president of UPSEE who does not hide that he is confused as much by Cambridge, the Mauritian Government and the fate of the students who are faced with such an unprecedented situation with Covid but are still under the same obligations as practised before the Covid 19 era.
Resit, Entrance exam, work placement.
A special Covid formula required
He advocates for free or less costly education but also promotes the chance for students to do better without repeating a year. “For SC students, those who are missing credits, they should be given a Resit in subjects important for their promotion,” he suggests to the Ministry of Education and Cambridge. For those HSC students who are missing ‘A’s to gain entry to universities or are forced to repeat their Upper Six, he also proposes “a resit, or a special exam such as a special Covid entrance exam, or a traineeship validated by both the company and the chosen university to compensate for any shortfall. Special Covid formulas must be adopted for a better future of our future! The student cannot be penalised so much in his journey towards a better life“, he concludes.
The wait in the dark is painful without any doubts, but the lack of proposals from the Government, for young people wishing for a better future through education is “inconceivable“, concludes Bhoseparsad Jhugdamby. He intends to force a meeting with the leaders in the field of education.
