General

The Mauritian tertiary education landscape has witnessed major transformation since the country’s accession to its independence in 1968 when only one institution, namely the University of Mauritius was in existence. The Sector today encompasses a total of 61 institutions, both public and private, and a regional institution each with its own specificity.

Within the public sector, tertiary education revolves around the University of Mauritius (UoM), the University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM), the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE), the Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI), the Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI), the Mauritius College of the Air (MCA) and the Fashion and Design Institute (FDI).

Overseeing these seven tertiary education institutions (TEIs) is the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) which, inter alia, has responsibility for allocating public funds and fostering, planning and coordinating the development of post-secondary education and training. Since 2005, TEC has the mandate to regulate private post-secondary education institutions locally through institutional registration and programme accreditation to ensure the quality educational provision. The TEC also determines the recognition and equivalence of post-secondary qualifications.

Two polytechnics also operate within the public sector, namely the Swami Dayanand Institute of Management (SDIM) and the "Institut Superieur de Technologie" (1ST). These 2 polytechnics which previously operated under the aegis of the Technical School Management Trust Fund have now been attached to the UTM. The TSMTF, for its part has been integrated with the former Industrial and Vocational Training Board (IVTB) to form the newly created Mauritius Institute of Training and Development (MITD). Both the MITD which focuses its activities on vocational training and the Mauritius Institute of Health (MIH) dispense tertiary level programmes in selected areas.

In addition to the above publicly-funded institutions (PFIs), 50 private institutions and 76 awarding bodies deliver tertiary-level programmes locally, mostly in niche areas like Information Technology, Law, Management, Accountancy and Finance. Some institutions provide tertiary education in range of disciplines, spanning from Certificate to PhD, while others focus their activities to some restricted areas and levels. A majority of these private institutions operate on a part-time basis, in the evenings, weekends and on some weekdays with relatively small student cohorts. Most, if not all, of the programmes are those of overseas institutions. These are being offered through franchise agreements whereby the overseas institutions provide programme materials and/or tutorial support. Apart from playing an administrative role, the local partners also provide tutorial support, in certain cases, using exclusively their own resources.

The provision of tertiary education extends beyond the local boundary given that a significant number of Mauritian students either go overseas or resort exclusively to the open or distance learning mode to upgrade their qualifications.