3,200 Students Lost in Mauritius Education System, PMSD Warns

Opposition leader Xavier-Luc Duval, head of the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD), is pressing the Mauritian government to explain what becomes of thousands of young people who fall through the cracks of the country's education system.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday 7 November, Duval pointed out that schooling is compulsory in Mauritius up to the age of 16, raising the question of what structured support exists for students who cannot keep pace with the mainstream curriculum.

Drawing on results from the 2025 National Foundation Certificate of Examination, Duval cited a striking figure: of the roughly 3,600 students enrolled in the former Extended Programme in 2022, only around 400 went on to join the Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD), a public body that provides vocational and technical training. That leaves an estimated 3,200 young people who either dropped out or did not complete a recognised qualification.

The Extended Programme was a secondary-school track designed for students who did not perform well enough to follow the standard academic route. It has since been replaced by the Foundation Programme, introduced as part of a broader reform of the Nine-Year Continuous Basic Education system in Mauritius. Duval argues, however, that the change in name has not changed the underlying problem.

His core concern is twofold. First, he is calling on the government to publish transparent data on how students in the new Foundation Programme are actually performing. Second, and more urgently, he wants to know what concrete pathways exist for young people who risk leaving school at 16 without a qualification or a plan for further education or training.

The MITD offers courses in fields such as construction, hospitality, information technology and beauty therapy, and is meant to serve as one route for school-leavers who do not enter higher academic education. But with only about 400 out of 3,600 students making that transition, critics argue the gap between intention and reality is wide.

What this means: For families with children in lower-performing school tracks, this debate matters directly. If thousands of young people are leaving compulsory education without qualifications and without being redirected toward vocational training, it raises serious questions about long-term youth employment prospects in Mauritius. Duval is essentially asking the government to show its working, to demonstrate that the Foundation Programme is not repeating the failures of the Extended Programme, and to outline a safety net for those who do not make it through.

Source: ION News