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