Mauritius : The artless culture

Mauritius is a country where people live in a constant ecstasy of culture and arts, a place so buoyant with the passionate mind of artists that we have established ourselves as a leading cultural hub in the world, one of the primary destinations for people who want to come and experience art, of all kinds, in the most visceral manner.

Our present artistic society is akin to that of the Enlightenment era in Europe, with each new piece of art being a thought-provoking masterpiece, testimony of the intellectual and emotional richness of our culture, something that tugs at the heart of the people and teases their brains. Our people are constantly floored by the brilliance of our local artists, witnessing their steady growth from raw talent to dexterous veteran. We eagerly await the release of any new musical composition, any new art exhibit, we rush to the book shops and wait in line to purchase the latest Mauritian literary sensation. We are a cultural society, aided by our government, to support and promote art to always go beyond the limits. The world loves our art but above all, we, Mauritians, love our own art, we are proud of it!

Except that it is false. Nothing of the above is true except for the fact that Mauritius truly is home to some great artistic talent but that is it. The rest is all a fantasy of someone who truly wishes Mauritius to be that way but is also aware that Mauritius is where art withers away into oblivion. Whose fault is that? All of us.

The Mauritian society is not one conducive to a proper artistic and cultural growth. Beginning with a government (not just the present one but all of them) that favours the fields of science and economy over the arts. We have an education system that moulds the students to see the art subjects as more easily acquired, as unimportant, as inconsequential to the proper functioning of society. This situation is further worsened by an overwhelming number of teachers, from the art and languages departments, who themselves are either dispassionate by what they do or simply prove to be plain incompetent. That is why very impressionable students of 12 years old are stuck with English teachers who say “aks” instead of “ask”, French teachers who are so confused by the language that they themselves do not know what they are talking about and Art teachers who are satisfied with having a handful of kids who can draw a patty pan squash and not make it look like a potato.

In trying to know why the education system fails in that regard, Mr. N, an established educator, gives us his opinions about why things are that way.

• Log Pillay: As an educator, what’s your opinion about the place that the arts have in our educational curriculum and the lives of our students?
• Mr N: Despite what you may think, during these last five to seven years, the system has attempted to implement some artistic programmes in the school curriculums, such as drama-theatre in some schools, a more serious pursuit for music and the visual arts, to improve the holistic development of the children. But still, there is an obvious lack of quality teaching staff to undertake such an endeavour.
• LP: Why do you suppose we have such an incompetent teaching staff?
• Mr N: You see, the teachers we have are also victims of that very system but it doesn’t excuse the fact that they show no passion for their job, no sense of duty or belongingness to the arts, much like our Ministry for Arts and Culture which does little more than just giving awards at ceremonies. Even if it’s just a question of the profession itself, teaching is not given its due respect in Mauritius, unlike developed countries where a teacher is just as respected and rewarded as a doctor or a lawyer. Here, we show no appreciation for their work, and in turn, they find little reason to go the extra mile or even to just do the bare minimum.

Log Pillay