Mauritius Scores Below OECD Average in PISA 2025 Education Test

Mauritius has scored below the OECD average across all three assessed subjects in the 2025 edition of the PISA study, according to findings reviewed by the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday 7 November.

PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment, is conducted every three years by the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It measures how well 15-year-old students can apply knowledge and skills in real-life situations. The 2025 cycle focused primarily on science, with reading and mathematics as secondary subjects. The assessment also examined student attitudes, personal experiences and the broader school environment.

For Mauritius, the results paint a mixed but concerning picture. Science was the strongest subject among Mauritian students, yet even here the island fell short of the OECD benchmark. Reading and mathematics showed more significant structural weaknesses, according to the Cabinet communique.

The OECD average is widely used as a global reference point for education quality. Scoring below it does not automatically mean a country is failing, but it does indicate that students may be less prepared than their peers in higher-performing nations to handle complex, real-world challenges, an increasingly important factor in a knowledge-based economy.

For Mauritius, which has long positioned its education system as one of the strongest in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean region, the findings carry particular weight. The country invests heavily in schooling, with free education from primary through university level, yet PISA results suggest that access to education and quality of learning outcomes are not always aligned.

In response to the results, the government has stated that isolated, piecemeal initiatives are no longer sufficient. Instead, authorities are calling for a coordinated national response that covers curriculum delivery, classroom practices, assessment methods, teacher professional development, school leadership, student well-being and parental engagement. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources is expected to take a lead role in developing and rolling out this plan.

What this means: For parents, teachers and students in Mauritius, this signals that significant changes to how schools operate could be on the horizon. A national plan of this scope, if properly resourced and implemented, could affect everything from how lessons are taught in the classroom to how teachers are trained and evaluated. For employers and investors, it underscores that addressing skills gaps early is now a stated government priority, which may shape education spending and reform legislation in the coming years.

The full scope of the Ministry of Education's action plan had not been published at the time of reporting.

Source: ION News