LITERACY INSIDE OUT

DEV VIRAHSAWMY
5, Edwin Ythier Street, Rose Hill, 71368, Mauritius
limemsa@gmail.com https://boukiebanane.com

WHY A FEW SUCCEED WHERE MOST FAIL?

Recently, while we were talking about the different aspects of the literacy issue, my son-in-law, Sam Naidoo (65 years old), asked me if I could explain why and how he succeeded in mastering functional literacy and numeracy although his home language was Mauritian Creole (MC) and his parents possessed only a few rudiments of basic literacy and could not be considered literate. I found it a very pertinent question. And I thought about my own history.
I was born in Quartier Militaire of Telugu parents and grew up in Goodlands. Both parents spoke MC, my mother tongue, to each other and to me. My mother, Gouna, was a fan of Ti-Frer and sang his songs to me. I still remember a few lines from the songs:
1. Letan mo ti kontan twa Lilinn
Personn pa ti kone.
Aster mo kit twa, mo ale,
To pik mwa dan zournal.
2. Pa bate li misie,
Ayo mo gran misie!
Li pe koz laverite,
Li pa enn pares,
So saret ti tas dan labou.
3. Charlio, Charli
Aret bwar, aret bwar diven banann!
Dan diven banann ena bebet sizo.
I went to Goodlands Government School and my class was never packed as classes are today. I believe that most pupils were from middle and lower middle-class backgrounds. Very few working-class parents would send their children to school for girls were to help their mothers with household chores and boys were to help their fathers in the field or look after domestic animals. Moreover, teachers were mostly townspeople.
At school, I had to learn to read, write and speak English and French; to know the 11 multiplication tables (table 2 to table 12) from top to bottom and from bottom to top in MC; learn basic Arithmetic; know some geography; and learn good handwriting (penmanship). Teachers not only had small classes to control but they also gave personal-individual (not big group as today) private tuition for a modest fee.
I was a lower middle-class child and very lucky for both parents had mastered basic literacy and numeracy. I had the necessary back up from parents and personal private tutors.
It is to be noted that my paternal grandfather was a ‘sirdar’, in charge of several sugar estate workers; my maternal grandfather was a ‘marker’ (he could read and write basic things such as names, dates and time) and was responsible to keep a register of all workers in his department. Literacy was part of my family culture. Both grandfathers also invested in small businesses successfully and became respected notables in their villages.
School was responsible for the development and prestige of an elite. In the 1970’s, the scene changed dramatically. The authorities decided that schooling should be compulsory for all and parents who do not send their children to school would face legal action. Schools, classes, teachers, and pupils grew in number and size – a good thing in itself – but no thought was given to the need to question ‘medium of instruction’ which remained the same. Working-class and lower working-class children, a great majority in all classes, were totally lost. WHY?
School promoted middle-class culture and working-class and lower working-class children found themselves in an alien environment. Classes became more and more unruly. As examination standard was deliberately lowered to help more children through, the small elite scored very high marks. Moreover, private fee-paying schools started to flourish for middle-class parents wanted something better for their children.
Vote-catching strategies turned a blind eye to real problems. The refusal to use the mother tongue of most Mauritians, i.e. MC, as medium in the initial stage of education, has continued to this day and consequently 70% of the population have remained non-literate and non-numerate. Thousands of kids remain totally non-literate and non-numerate after up to 10 years at school.
ANYTHING WE CAN DO? In a recent article, this is what I proposed.
“Much time has been wasted. A radical change will rouse passions and generate hostility. I would like to propose an alternative which will not upset the applecart and allow for a smooth transition: Mauritian-English Bilingual Literacy (MEBL). How to do it? In all Extended Programme (EP) classes, we introduce MEBL for 45 minutes per day and ‘Arismetik’ (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) together with the memorisation of multiplication tables for another 45 minutes per day. My book, “TIKOU-TIKOU TOUY LOULOU” can be used to train teachers and prepare pedagogical material for learners. This will definitely raise the standard of education and pave the way to major reforms.”

Look at this:

TAN EK ASPE/TENSE AND ASPECTS

MC

Prezan: Mo bwar dilo.
Prezan kontinie: Mo pe bwar dilo.
Prezan parfe: Mo finn bwar dilo.
Pase: Mo ti bwar dilo.
Pase kontinie: Mo ti pe bwar dilo.
Pase parfe: Mo ti finn bwar dilo.
Fitir: Mo pou bwar dilo.
Fitir dan pase: Mo ti pou bwar dilo.

ENGLISH

Present tense: I drink water.
Present continuous: I am drinking water.
Present perfect: I have drunk water.
Past tense: I drank water.
Past continuous: I was drinking water.
Past perfect: I had drunk water.
Future: I will drink water.
Future in the past: I would drink water.

The syntactic structures of MC and English are almost identical because English is also a creole language.
Why do we refuse to use resources at our disposal to make of Mauritius the land of FUNCTIONAL-BILINGUAL-LITERACY?

Mersi Sam! To kestion finn obliz mwa presiz mo panse.

22.09.23

 

OPEN LETTER TO THE P.M

DEV VIRAHSAWMY
5, Edwin Ythier street, Rose Hill, 71368, Mauritius
limemsa@gmail.com       https://boukiebanane.com

Date: 09.09.23

OPEN LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER

NOBLE MINDS FACE FAILURE WITH EQUANIMITY!

Dear Prime Minister,
Allow me to share with you the following observations and thoughts.
As a nation we now invest nearly 20 billion rupees every year on education. Is the money well-spent? In my humble submission, the answer is NO. Why? For more than 50 years, we have focused on quantity in terms of subject matter and accessibility to learning – not a bad thing in itself – but failed to develop national literacy deliberately confusing it with schooling. This appears clearly in the form regularly filled by the ministry of education for UNESCO. As no research has been conducted on literacy, officers simply put down the percentage of children who go to school, assuming that all schooled children do acquire literacy which includes numeracy.
Let us first define literacy. It means the ability to read, write and count. Moreover, there are 3 levels of literacy: basic, functional, and advanced.
BASIC LITERACY means that the persons concerned can write on themselves a short grammatically correct and well-punctuated text, in the language of their choice, which tells us, in about 150 words, who they are. I think that less than 30% of the population can do this and that 70% of the population can only draw a copy of their names or use their thumb marks.
FUNCTIONAL LITERACY means “the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development” (UNESCO Institute for Statistics). It includes information literacy, digital literacy, and media literacy. I believe that a good S.C and H.S.C certificate (O and A level) may ensure functional literacy to holders of these certificates, i.e., about 20% of the population.
ADVANCED LITERACY is what is required for university studies and professional activities, and it is the prestigious competency of about 10% of the population, an elite which jealously guards and protects its privileges and interests.
I will surely be accused of exaggeration. My answer is very simple: remove party symbols on ballot papers and see what happens.
WHY HAVE WE FAILED?
• In Mauritius we confuse literacy with language learning and mother tongue reality is ignored. First of all, the term ‘mother tongue’ is misunderstood and many think that it means the language of our ancestors (French, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Cantonese etc.) or some prestigious languages (Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin Chinese). In fact, it means the language used by parents which a child starts to learn while still in the mother’s womb and the language which the child uses in his/her home and social environment.
• Here are the facts: Morisien/Mauritian (Mauritian Creole) is the mother tongue/first language/L1 of 90% of the population and the second language/L2 of the remaining 10%. It is the best medium to help our children master basic literacy after which they will learn second languages (French, Hindi etc.) more easily. But ignorance, prejudices and hysterical language loyalty are so rife that politicians prefer to avoid the issue.
• English is not only our official language but also the most important international language. Moreover, it is a ‘creole’ language which developed some 1,200 years ago when Vikings invaded England and occupied a large territory. It started as a pidgin and with time became the national/official language of the UK in the 16th-17th centuries and later the language of the British Empire and now it is a quasi-universal language.
• As our national language and our official language are both creole languages which are analytic as opposed to synthetic languages like French, Hindi or Arabic, a sound language policy would make of Mauritius the land of functional-bilingual literacy. Again, because of ignorance, prejudices, and hysterical language loyalty no government has had, so far, the courage to take the bull by the horns.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Governments have created, to no avail, special classes (PREVOC and Extended Programme) for the thousands of our children who, after 6-10 years at school, remain absolutely non-literate and non-numerate because of a catastrophic language policy which ignores the use of our mother tongue as medium, not to be confused with language as subject.
Much time has been wasted. A radical change will rouse passions and generate hostility. I would like to propose an alternative which will not upset the applecart and allow for a smooth transition: Mauritian-English Bilingual Literacy (MEBL). How to do it? In all Extended Programme (EP) classes, we introduce MEBL for 45 minutes per day and Arismetik (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) together with the memorisation of multiplication tables for another 45 minutes per day. My book, “TIKOU-TIKOU TOUY LOULOU” can be used to train teachers and prepare pedagogical material for learners. This will definitely raise the standard of education and pave the way to major reforms.
Brotherly namaste,
Dev