Youth debates: Preserving our elites

In each and every society there are elites. It is the responsibility of a society to preserve and promote them. Elites do not necessary entail education only. They can be any field: art, sports or theatre. Our youth debate on this issue. 

Deepak Maunthrooa: “We should promote the elite” 

Deepak takes Dr Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University theory into consideration. According to him, Dr Howard had come up with the theory of multiple intelligence, suggesting that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on IQ testing, is far too limited. “In Mauritius, we tend to lay emphasis upon IQ more than anything. We associate the word ‘elite’ to students of our Star Colleges and this is rightly so since they have been the best of their cohort in primary schooling. Most often, laureates are among those same students,” claims Deepak Maunthrooa. Having been in the education sector as an English Educator, Deepak firmly believes that our educational system should definitely promote the elite. Elitism, for him, is a select group that is superior in terms of abilities or qualities compared to the rest of society. “Should we promote and support the elite has been a debatable issue since quite long but we tend to forget that the CPE system has been promoting just this for the past 35 years or so!

The CPE system has made students (and parents) push their limits to obtain good results with the ‘reward’ of obtaining a seat in a Star College like RCPL, QEC, DMC, RCC, etc. Has this been good or bad? Only those having been through this would be able to provide a relevant answer.” He further adds that nurturing the elite of a country is not a bad thing in itself. There is always the belief that those forming part of the elite will not return from abroad once their university education over but we should be able to see the glass as half-full. He has been in touch with many and he asserts that about 75% are in Mauritius right now! Such people have been put in the ‘special’ category but they haven’t rested on their laurels. Efforts and hard work pay in whatever you do. An improvement in our system might be to spot and channel the elite (those not having a high IQ level) who are superior in other abilities such as sports, music, song or even leadership. Such people can also be termed as elite of the country but unlike the academic elite, those might be spotted very late or never.

His closing comments are: “Be it the CPE or the PSAC, the end result is to obtain good results at HSC level and bag one of the scholarships available. The concept of academies, to me, appears to be a positive one whereby we shall have the best competing in an academy of science or academy of arts, etc. My advice to parents: go for healthy competition which is both good for you and your child.”

Avinash Dhondoo: “It is essential to keep our elites here”

Elite people leaving do not necessarily hinder the possibility of a brighter future for their home country, says Avinash. “Giving refugees the opportunity to assimilate their new country does not equate to a brain drain of their birth country. In our beloved country, we have people who are extremely intelligent academically, we have tremendous talent in our small world of sports and we have ingenious people in other fields.  Therefore, it is very essential to keep them here.” 

He reveals that when a highly educated individual leaves the country, the money invested in their education here gets no dividends in return. “However they are not to be blamed, as despite being highly educated, they also get nothing in return. Young people in Mauritius, and their families, base their decision on whether or not to invest in higher education on a number of factors. Crucially, a degree should result in increased economic opportunities for it to be worth the investment. In Mauritius we see that the labour market is not able to accommodate a large number of skilled workers and elite sportspersons do not have their places here, let alone pay them high salaries.

So there is no guarantee the degree will contribute to a better future within the country's borders. Consequently, the option to look for work abroad can be a powerful incentive to continue studying. Since in the end not everyone that makes this choice will actually emigrate and some that do will return after a while, the net outcome is a higher number of well-educated citizens living in Mauritius. The focus thus should be on making elites migration as beneficial as possible for all parties concerned. Clear rules and standards must be set so that both the destination countries and Mauritius benefit from it.”  

Mayuree Seetanah: “Elites threaten the concept of democracy” 

The Mauritian society is crowded with people who are scrambling for the limited space at the top of the ladder and it is worth asking who exactly gets to the top, since most of the elites have unfortunately amputated our chances to be at the top, states Mayuree. “The elite education has undoubtedly inculcated a constellation of values that lead the sub-cultures individual to believe that they are the ‘inferior’ ones. The idea of promoting the elites indubitably threatens the concept of Democracy in Mauritius since a democratic regime is meant to serve the interests of the population.

While some of the elites use their tactics and power to manipulate the population, others do contribute towards the development of Mauritius. Elite education further sharpens the competitive edge of students, making them suitable for the international labour market and upgrading their standard of living. Moreover, some of the elites of the country do possess good leadership qualities with which they are able to groom society and help in uplifting its population. To end, we shall not forget that all societies including ours are divided into those who rule and those who are ruled.” 

Vanisha Rajasur: “Mauritius has intelligent manpower”

Vanisha firmly believes that our elites are really losing their worth in today’s fast moving economy. “The elites should be encouraged to leave a “legacy” but unfortunately, very few are being given the recognition for their achievements and valued for their potentials. We are living in an era where each day we turn the page and we forget the contribution of our elites. Individuals are more focused in their hatred or jealousy thus causing hurdles to others life. Mauritius has a rich source of eligible and intelligent manpower and companies as well as government should make effective use of them by involving them in strategic projects. On one hand, this will increase our economy’s visibility in terms of “pool of talents” and it will nurture the hope and trust of our elites that they are an important asset too.

The veil of ignorance and fear should be removed from individual’s eyes.  If elites want to be promoted, they should also never lose faith and should keep on working hard so as not to lose their identity as an “elite”. Stakeholders should stop stereotyping elites as a “highly paid workers”.  If we want meritocracy to prevail, elites should be recruited fairly, as they genuinely will go the extra mile in everything they do. Elitism is the pride of any country and they should be encouraged to stay in their country. What really acts as a demotivator to them is the mentality of people “over promising them and finally under-delivering.” If this is avoided, you will get the heart, mind and hand of these people for life,” she concludes.”