Formation and development of the national system of quality assurance in higher education of the Republic of Mauritius

The Republic of Mauritius, an island state in Southeast Africa, located in the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, is notable for the fact that its integral formation and development, including the construction of a national educational system, are closely intertwined with the geopolitical, socio-economic and geographical history of the country, which was a colony of such European states as Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, etc. Mauritius has integrated the experience of colonial powers into its own development trajectories. In particular, it should be noted that Mauritius, having gained independence in 1968 from British colonization, was declared a sovereign constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations, assimilating in the process the British model of education in its national education system. Almost all general education institutions of the colonial era, as evidenced by researchers Kamara M. [1] and Windel A. [2], were founded with religious intentions, with the aim of promoting missionary denominations and the dominance of French-English education, without a specific obligation to spread higher education. As in the era of French colonial Africa, the British colonists sought out English-speaking indigenous and slave populations brought by colonizers from other African countries, India, China, etc., largely for the purpose of seeking profit and realizing economic plans. However, the demand of the representatives of British industry operating on the territory of the island for qualified specialists in narrow engineering, technical and natural science profiles and areas of training contributed to the reorientation of missionary schools, initially aimed at the study of theology and the Bible, the study of astronomy, mathematics, geography, the English language, the basics of administration, trade, and so on. Present, the Mauritius Higher Education Quality Assurance System (hereinafter referred to as the MHEQAS) reflects, on the one hand, the national component in its basis, on the other hand, it is based, albeit on the Africanized, but British model and standards for assessing the quality of education. Moreover, it can be argued that the MHEQAS is quite in line with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area ESG. This article is devoted to the consideration of the quality assurance standards of higher education in the Republic of Mauritius and the analysis of specific criteria laid down in the national system for assessing the quality of higher education from the point of view of comparing them with ESG standards.

Republic of Mauritius, national education system, Mauritius system of quality assurance in higher education, criteria and indicators of program audit, European ESG standards