Recently, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Mauritius, in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), launched the third phase of implementing  Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) in Mauritius.

The launch event was attended by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, and Professor Peter Scott, President and CEO of COL, who addressed the event virtually.

Participants from six higher education institutions where TEL implementation is in progress attended the launch event that also served as a training day on open educational resources (OER).

During Phase 3 of the project, these institutions will develop, transform and offer 50 blended courses to students. Developed with COL support, the courses and related educational assets will also be shared on the National OER platform.

Professor Scott, in his keynote address, commended the leadership of the Higher Education Commission of Mauritius for working on mainstreaming TEL in the country as part of its strategic plan. He also highlighted the success of COL’s C-DELTA programme, which has been accessed by over 3,000 Mauritians, including close to 430 teachers who have successfully completed this digital education leadership training.

In her address, the Vice Prime Minister underscored the increasing reliance on technologies like ChatGPT and AI for student assignments and urged universities to adapt to these technological advancements and review their assessment models. Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun also asked the heads of institutions and lecturers to become involved in devising new assessment methods. She reiterated that the objective of TEL and the integration of OER is to equip educators with the necessary knowledge and skills to guide students and facilitate their access to quality education.

Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist at COL, remarked:

“The launch of Phase 3 of the TEL implementation in Mauritius is indicative of COL’s long-term support of partner institutions and governments in mainstreaming TEL systematically through policy development, capacity building, and appropriate technology adoption. This year, in the capacity-building of teachers to develop blended courses, we have also integrated the use of AI tools to provide contemporary need-based training.”