Info on Mauritius

By T. Auckle

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Geography and Climate

History

Economy

Education System

Law and Order

Culture and Religion

Fauna and Flora

Main Differences…….

Mauritius on the World map

Part of the Mascarene Islands comprising of the islands of Mauritius, Reunion (French territory) and Rodrigues. Mauritius is believed to be the oldest of the three islands (according to carbon dating experiments)

Mauritius is of volcanic origin and comprises of the main Island of Mauritius and its island dependencies of Rodrigues and Agalega. It is still claiming sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and Tromelin Island

Approximately 400 nautical miles off the island of Madagascar…Between South Africa and the Western coast of Australia

Tropical Climate with hot and humid summers (and tropical cyclones!) and cool and temperate winters.

Civil ensign – motto: “Stella Clavisque Maris Indici”, meaning the Star and key of the Indian Ocean

Discovered by Arab and Portuguese sailors

First inhabitants – the Dutch…extermination of the Dodo

Colonisation by the French until 1810…Slaves brought to work in the island

Colonisation by the British for the next 158 years…abolition of slavery in the 1830s, advent of indentured labourers and free immigrants.

Main Pillar of the economy: the sugar industry

Tourism

The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) sector

Budding offshore banking sector

Cyber city-implantation of Indian firms like Infosys

General Information

Currency – The Mauritian Rupee – Rs 1= 100 cents

£1= Rs 54.09

Pre-primary Education either in Government or Private Institutions

Primary Education :1.Government schools 2.Private schools 3 .Roman catholic Aided Schools (RCA schools, administered by the Church)

Lower Secondary Education (up to GCE O Level-Cambridge International Exams) OR Pre-Vocational education and later to the IVTB (Polytechnic)

Upper Secondary Education (GCE A level – Cambridge International Exams, Competition for scholarships at national level)

Tertiary Education – University of Mauritius,

Mahatma Gandhi Institute – From any primary school to the lower secondary section, pre-vocational or to the Gandhian Basic School

These schools act as feeders to the upper secondary which in turn channels its students mostly to its specific fields

The French System of Education – Lycee labourdonnee

Tertiary education Provided by private Institutions like

De Chazal Du Mee Business School

Rushmore Business school

Medical School at Belle Rive

School of Dentistry in the North

E-Education

Still Under Consideration; Under the aegis of the University of Technology Mauritius

Those studying abroad

A very limited number of scholarships awarded to deserving students

MOTTO:

Salus Populi Suprema Lex esto: The Well Being of the People is the Supreme law.

Small Island- Low rate of Criminality

Well, efforts are on to truly make the island a paradise but who can boast of eradicating evil completely?

Concept of the RAINBOW ISLAND – DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS LIVE TOGETHER IN COMPLETE HARMONY

Main religions: Hinduism (52%), Islam, Christianity and a small community of Chinese.

Mixture of Hindus, Tamils, Telegus, Bengalis, Marathis, Gujaratis, Punjabis

Main Festivals:

Maha Shivaratri:

Pilgrimage to Grand bassin- the “Kanwar”

Deepavali or Divali– The Festival of Lights

Holi-the festival of colours

Cavadee-Celebrated by the Tamil Community

Main Festivals celebrated: Eid-ul-Fitr, Bakr-Eid

The St Louis Cathedral, P. Louis

A mixture of Buddhism and Christianity, main festivals celebrated-Chinese Spring Festival

THE SEGA DANCE-

Traditional songs-Sega and Bhojpuri songs (by the Hindu Community)

Traditional foods: The “Rougaille”-A dish whose basic ingredient is tomato.

Salted Fish

Unique marine life-the seas of Mauritius and its island dependencies are the natural habitat of a large number of sea animals whose beauty is breathtaking.

The Kestrel, the Pink Pigeon and the Echo Parakeet are birds which are endemic to the island and are on the UN list of endangered species.

The Kestrel is the rarest bird of prey in the world.

The Pink Pigeon is the rarest pigeon in the whole world.

The Mauritius/Echo Parakeet is – as you’ve all surely guessed-the rarest parrot in the world!

These birds are initially bred in captivity by the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, then released in the Black River Gorge, home to the rare ebony trees and to more endemic plants.

Oceanic Bird: the White Tailed Tropic Bird, also known as the Paille-en-queue, is the emblem of the Mauritian national Airline.