Introduction of Kreol Morisien (Mauritian Creole) and Bhojpuri as an optional language in our schools at primary level -Mauritius -Ile Maurice

Introduction of Kreol Morisien (Mauritian Creole) and Bhojpuri in our primary  schools as optional subject

The present Government is taking the bull by its horns by going ahead with what many other Governments have never been bold enough to do before. In the first instance, the Government Programme 2010-2015 had announced that mother tongues like Bhojpuri and Mauritian Creole or Kreol Morisien would be introduced in our schools in line with international best practices. But now things seem to be moving fast. The Ministry of Education which has set up two Technical Committees on the languages is showing strong commitment and pushing the Agenda forward.

The International Mother Language Day celebrated on Monday 21.02.2011 under the aegis of UNESCO will remain  a momentous day in the life of Mauritius as the ORTHOGRAF KREOL MORISIEN was launched thereby paving the way for a standardized writing system for Kreol Morisien. This is a major leap forward for what many Mauritians consider to be their mother tongue. The Population Census 2000 had revealed that the percentage of Mauritians speaking Kreol Morisien usually or speaking it the most at home was 70.1 percent ie an increase of nearly 10 percentage points as compared to 1990 (61.7%) hence making it the most spoken language in the country. Meanwhile Bhojpuri’s share had declined by 7 percentage points from 19.1% in 1990  to 12.1% in 2000. Still Bhojpuri remains the second most spoken language in the country. Hence in a bid to revive this rich language the Government would be introducing both languages in the schools as soon as possible. Yet we must be conscious that there is a need to standardize the languages as well as provide their  grammar without omitting the fact that teacher training and curriculum development would have to be carried out.This will take time but at the end of the day the languages are forthcoming in our schools. A few questions still remain as to the impact of introducing Bhojpuri as an optional subject ie with the same status as Hindi, others fear that Kreol Morisien could adversely impact learning of  French.

However, if we stick to the recommendation of UNESCO and rely on international best practices, it is relevant to quote UNESCO website ‘UNESCO promotes mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual approaches in education - an important factor for inclusion and qualilty in education. Research shows this has a positive impact on learning and learning outcomes.’