No School on 5 October for Teachers' Day, But SC and HSC Exams Go Ahead

Mauritius will observe a school holiday on Sunday 5 October in honour of World Teachers' Day, meaning no regular classes will be held that day. However, students sitting the School Certificate (SC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC) national examinations will not get a reprieve — those exam sittings are confirmed to go ahead as scheduled. **What is Teachers' Day in Mauritius?** World Teachers' Day is celebrated globally on 5 October each year, as designated by UNESCO. In Mauritius, the day is officially recognised and schools are closed as a mark of respect for the teaching profession. It is not a full public holiday in the legal sense, but the Ministry of Education typically suspends normal school attendance. **Why do SC and HSC exams still go ahead?** The SC (School Certificate) and HSC (Higher School Certificate) are high-stakes national examinations administered by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES). The SC is broadly equivalent to GCSEs in the UK and is taken by students at the end of Form V (around age 17). The HSC is taken at the end of Form VI (around age 19) and is the key qualification for university entry. Because these exams follow a tightly scheduled national timetable — and any disruption can have knock-on effects for thousands of candidates — the authorities have decided to maintain the sittings even on the Teachers' Day holiday. Exam venues will remain open and students are expected to attend as normal. **What this means for students and parents** For the vast majority of Mauritian schoolchildren, 5 October means a day off. However, SC and HSC candidates who have an exam paper scheduled on that date must attend their examination centre as planned. Parents and students are advised to double-check their individual timetables issued by the MES to confirm whether they have a sitting on 5 October. Teachers who are required to invigilate those exams may also be expected to report for duty, despite the holiday designation. The decision underlines the priority placed on keeping the national exam calendar on track — particularly as the SC and HSC results feed directly into university admissions and scholarship processes, both locally and abroad. Students with questions about their specific timetable should contact the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate directly or check with their school administration. Source: Le Défi Media