Mauritius Uncovered

Mauritius has undergone rapid development these past 20 years which is greatly reflected in the state of the transport system. Metamorphosing from oxen pulled carts along dirty ragged paths, Mauritius now has a network of roads of about 2000 km long extending around the whole island. Though small in size, Mauritius has a large population and it also faces the problem of traffic especially during the peak hours (8am to 10am, 3pm to 5pm), noise and air pollution as in other developed countries.

Modes of transport in Mauritius are via the roads, the airport and the harbour. Most of the roads on the island are in generally good conditions with few exceptions in the lesser used areas (unpaved and ragged roads). There is only one airport on the island, the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport located in the South East at Plaisance; the airport has undergone major development over the past years to cater for the tourist industry. The harbour is located in the North West in Port Louis where all shipping processes take place as well as cruises to other countries.

The best way to travel on the island when you are on holiday is by private car. Most hotels can arrange for car hire from existing private agencies at relatively good prices or you can just walk up to some car hiring agency and book for a car at a lower price; these agencies are located all over the island and can be easily accessed. Other means include scooters which are rented at cheap prices in hotels or in travel agencies and which allow the visitor to travel at his/her ease over the island and which may help to bypass traffic in certain areas.

One of the cheapest ways to visit the island is by far the buses. Numerous bus stops are found along major streets as are found bus stations in most cities. The person has to pay the fare while on the bus itself which is less than £1 per couple; the fare is generally cheaper for children and those with student Ids. The bus network spreads across the whole island which means that one can go from the North to the South by bus itself though the journeys can be quite long and tiring.
Another easy way to travel in all comfort is the taxi. Though taxis in Mauritius have taxi meters, they are not used but rather the prices to travel from place to place are established by specific laws based on the distance. Taxis are readily available from hotels, major shopping malls as well as on many roadsides in most towns. There is no rail transport in Mauritius but all in all travelling over the island is quite easy.

Mauritius is characterised by different groups of ethnicities that have managed to live happily by ever since man set foot on the island. Inhabited by the Arabs, Dutch, French and Britons initially, other races also found their way to the island mainly as slaves and labourers like the Africans and Indians. According to statistics, religious groups on the island consist of 51% Hindus, 27% Creoles (African descendants), 17% Muslims and 5% others (include Chinese, Sikhs, Anglo Mauritians and Franco Mauritians). Religious beliefs mainly revolve around Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.
Mauritius counts about 1.2 million people and out of that about half are Hindus making Mauritius the only part of Africa where Hinduism dominates. This can be explained mostly by the large influx of indentured labourers when the British owned the island to work in the fields and serve their masters. These people came from different parts of India such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and they are the most common Hindus in Mauritius; others, the Tamils, came from Tamil Naidu and Andhra Pradesh while Marathis came from Gujarats and Sikhs from Punjab.

The Muslims reached the island too as indentured labourers from India, East Africa, Punjab and still others came from the Middle East. The Sunnis form the majority with Ahmadiya, Tablik, Tawheed and others falling in the minority. Islam is highly followed by all Muslims making it a must to abide by all its rules. On Friday, which is the praying day for them, many of them make it a must to go to their prayers at the nearest mosques and also shut down their businesses during that time (1pm-2pm).

Christianity is also one of the main religions practiced on the island with many Mauritians being strict Christians while others are Roman Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans etc. Falling in this category are the Africans brought to the island as slaves as well as the European descendants. Chinese also occupy the island with most of them being Christians while others are Buddhists or even Confucians. These immigrants mostly came from Canton and Hunan speaking their native Cantonese and Mandarin before a good part of them converted to Catholics.

Mauritius is a wonderful place to meet all sorts of religious believers such as the Rastafarians, Baha’i, Freemasons to name a few. Each different ethnic group brought with it its different culture and beliefs that each can perform freely on the island. Because of the vast diversity of religious groups and because of the freedom of religion that Mauritius supports, there are quite a number of public holidays for each different ethnic group. If you want to see different religious customs in one day, Mauritius is the place!

Mauritius may be a small island, but development is veering towards the life of the developed countries and this is reflected in the general health states of the population. Less personal time and more working hours mean that people rely more on fast foods and have less time for sports which then lead to a string of health problems. Moreover, climatic conditions also have their share in the rise in health problems on the island as seen in the Chikungunya (mosquito borne disease) that greatly affected the population and tourism industry in 2006.

Compared to the past, the health of Mauritians has bettered given that now more facilities are available to combat once mortal diseases. There has been an increase in the lifespan trend with more surviving people as from 65 years old with the balance tipping in favour of the female population. As of 2006, the infant mortality rate has been seen to be less than 16 per 1000 babies born while the average life expectancy for males was 68.9 and 75.7 for females.

Mauritius offers the best possible health facilities that it can freely; there are 8 hospitals on the island, 134 health facilities (dispensaries,  health centres etc), a mental hospital, an ear, nose and throat hospital, an eye hospital, a cardiac centre and a chest hospital and about 13,000 health staff. A number of private clinics are also scattered all over the island.

The main problem that Mauritius faces nowadays is in terms of non communicable diseases. A number of diseases such as malaria, Tuburculosis, have been successfully eliminated but the new life trend now leads to other complications like diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, heart problems, smoke and alcohol related problems. It has been found that the diet of Mauritians itself is one of the main problems with its high salt content and low vegetable and fibre content. Moreover the number of smokers and drinkers is also on the rise. Vaccination is very important especially at young ages so that the immune system can develop means to fight certain diseases; as such children are vaccinated against a number of diseases at different ages.

As far as tourists are concerned, it is recommended to be vaccinated against certain diseases currently not found in their home range and this information is available at the Mauritius embassy in the respective country. No incurable disease is found on the island except for AIDS that require certain precautions to be taken while dealing with positive people. The water may be a problem to some people and it is recommended then to bring either your usual tablets or to boil the water before use. But whatever happens you will find friendly doctors where you are staying and hospitals and health centres are always free.

Located in Reduit, one of the coolest parts of the island of Mauritius, the University of Mauritius (UoM) is the leading institution of tertiary education nationally. The UoM officially opened its doors in 1965 after 135 years of due fighting for the promotion of tertiary education as a means to encourage knowledge at a cheaper price on the island. Since then, the university has made enormous progress and is considered as one of the best universities regionally, ranking 32 in the African region as well as being the cheapest one locally.

The UoM has a large campus composing mainly of the faculty of agriculture, law and management, engineering, science and social studies and humanities and provide for online courses as well. Over the years research work has advanced a great deal such that besides providing scholarships based on best performances per faculty, other research scholarships are given to interested students as vacation schemes.  The accreditation centre of the UoM in Mauritius is the Ministry of Education; regionally it is affiliated to the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and the Association of African Universities (AAU). Courses range from diplomas to taught masters which are recognised internationally. The UoM also has a centre for professional development and lifelong learning, centre for consultancy and contract research, virtual centre for innovative learning technologies and a centre for information technology and systems.  The teaching medium is English with some modules in French.

The UoM has a student body of about 9000 to date with roughly equal number of male and female students. While half a century ago the thought of attending university would never have crossed a girl’s mind, today they are given the same rights to education as boys and have also been noted to perform better.  Students’ eligibility for university access is based on their higher school marks, both locally and internationally. Since education is free in Mauritius, local students have to pay only for the tuition fees which varies according to the respective faculties based on the number of teaching hours, lab fees etc. International students have to pay about US $4200 for tuition fees, US $460 for general fees and US $20 for student’s fund fee (+US $150 lab fee if needed);  SADC member countries pay only 50% i.e.  (US $2100) for tuition fees with the remaining other fees. The university does not provide accommodation to international students but arrangements can be made in helping students find proper houses in the university vicinity.

The need to study at a university is now being recognised as primordial in order to get a nice well paid job as well as to meet up to the proper standard of living. Finding a job in Mauritius nowadays is next to impossible without a degree and more often than not a master’s degree is a pre requisite in getting some jobs. As the island is developing at a fast rate, so is becoming the need of the proper graduates in the right jobs. Some workplaces even provide interesting packages based on the qualification (Mphil, Phd etc) i.e the higher up the qualification, the more cash in hand.

In an attempt to promote tertiary education in Mauritius, the government came up with a programme in this respect based mainly on broadening the range of higher school results, providing scholarships to needy students as well as assistance during the study period. A main driver of education is also the asset of free transport to university students. While some years ago, a student could have been spending roughly US $1 per day only in transportation (bus), today students only have to present their bus pass and ride to university freely. Given that most Mauritian families are middle class citizens, this has indeed boosted university access.  But, while the intake has increased by about 10% during  the past decade, the local tuition fees have also risen by more than 50% in the same decade

The University of Mauritius not only provides a platform for education, but is also a place to learn a new way of life, to get a sense of the “creole” life as reflected in the multi cultural dances, parties, shows organised by the student body in this aim. University life is supposed to be one of the best memories of one’s life, the UoM just provides for these unique and exhilarating moments.