The Government of Mauritius has, since January 2001, embarked itself upon a major project to transform the country into a Cyber Island. This project is being driven and monitored by an Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by the Right Hon. Prime Minister. Three Task Forces have accordingly been set up under the aegis of the Committee with specific terms of reference.

(a) The Task Force on Cyber City and Business Parks which is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance aims at setting up the appropriate infrastructure in the country and to attract investors of the ICT Industry.

(b) The E-Government Task Force, chaired by the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology aims at on-line delivery of Governmental services and the setting up of a Government Intranet Service to facilitate communication among Government Ministries and Departments.

(c) The Task Force on E-Education and E-Training which is chaired by the Minister of Education and Scientific Research has the following main objectives:

(i) to ensure that the necessary resources, both human and technical are made available to implement successfully the e-Education and e-Training Programme in order to support the objectives set by Government to expand the ICT Industry in the country;

(ii) to inculcate an IT culture in the generations to come by the introduction of ICT as a subject in primary schools, by encouraging students of the secondary schools to take science subjects and by taking appropriate measures at tertiary level so as to increase the number of diplomates and graduates in the field of ICT; and

(iii) to promote E-learning

The Task Force which is composed of members of both the public and private sectors has, after several working sessions held its sub-committee produced an Interim Report in November 2001 wherein it has declared its National Strategy to promote e-Education and e-Training for the Mauritian Citizens. Accordingly, different IT skills were identified whereby training was required. They are Computer Awareness, Computer Literacy, Computer Prioficiency, Computer Studies, Computing/Associate Computer Professionals and IT Specialist.

- 2 -

An implementation working Group, chaired by the Director of the Joint Economic Council was subsequently set up by the Task Force to start preliminary works regarding the implementation of the National Strategy for the promotion of e-Education and
e-Training. This working Group came up with a Mass Computer Proficiency Programme using existing computer laboratory facilities of 30 State Secondary Schools after school hours. The Computer Proficiency Programme (CPP) which is the 3rd level of IT skills identified targets the following:-

Education Sector

All Primary and Secondary Schools Teachers

Working Community

Legislators, Senior Officers, Professionals & Technicians

General Public

Unemployed, Housewives and Pensioners

The mounting of the Programme was approved by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on ICT. The Task Force on E-Education and E-Training has also set up a Steering Committee to monitor the implementation of the Training Programme with the National Productivity and Competitiveness (NPCC) acting as the legal entity to get the project off the ground.

Besides making all Mauritians IT proficient, the aims and objectives of the CPP are to :

(a) Increase job opportunities for Mauritians
(b) Improve productivity, thus ensuring a better living for the nation
(c) Increase the number of IT students
(d) Increase access to information and knowledge for all (e.g through the use of internet)
(e) use IT as a communication tool (e-mail, filling of Government forms via Website)

More details about the CPP can be obtained at the following address:

cpptraining @intnet.mu

- 3 -

Besides the training courses in Computer Proficiency, the Task Force is also looking into the possibility of mounting appropriate programmes relating to the first two levels of IT skills identified by the Sub-Committee namely Computer Awareness and Computer Literacy.

Furthermore, in order to ensure the availability of the desired calibre of human resources in the field of IT to support Government’s objectives to expand the ICT Industry, emphasis is being laid on strategic alliance of our tertiary institutions with foreign training bodies as well as on incentives for foreign training institutes to establish themselves in the country or to develop joint ventures with Mauritian companies for delivery of training in the field of ICT.

The Task Force will soon come up with its next Report which will be available on this website.