You were recently appointed as headmaster of Northfields. Why Mauritius and why Northfields?

Well, it’s quite a story. I have just retired from a school called St. Charles College, a boys’ school in South Africa, where I was headmaster for twenty years. The Northfields Board was looking for a person with experience in education and finance so that s/he could add value to their objectives at Northfields... I think I was appointed to the position mainly because of my financial background.

What is your assessment of the educational system at Northfields?

I think the school is a very exciting school, 270 pupils, 50% boys and 50% girls and still growing. The potential of embarking on new and exciting projects in education is high because we are small and are able to offer a greater degree of flexibility in our two major programmes, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge A’ levels. We are able to build a programme around each pupil, so that he/she can choose according to his/ her potential.

Did you run the IB when you were working in South Africa?

No, to the best of my knowledge, none of the top SA independent schools offers the IB. It’s too academically oriented. The emphasis on sport in South Africa precludes the IB from being offered.

Are you saying that the IB does not leave much room for other activities like sports?

It doesn’t if sport is offered at a high level as it is in SA.

The argument used here is that the IB allows for other activities because of its Creative, Action and Service (CAS) programme.

In South Africa, sports are emphasized at an extremely high and competitive level and the CAS programmes could never be offered in the top schools. There would simply not be sufficient time for both.

Does that mean that the exams are not pitched very high academically?

In SA, the state system has, for all intents and purposes, collapsed and the level of academics is poor. The independent schools have attempted to maintain a high standard but their examinations have to be moderated by the state. As a consequence, the school from which I come moved away from the SA system quite a number of years ago and now offers the Cambridge A-levels. The IB programme was investigated by St Charles College but was also found to be on the expensive side in addition to the negative impact on the sports programme.

What’s expensive about it?

The annual membership subscriptions, books, educational material and the re-training of teachers.

How do you fit in your mission here with your background?

One has to adjust. This country is not at SA’s level of school sport. In terms of sporting culture here, people tend to play sport for enjoyment, rather than with a view to producing professional sportsmen.

Do you think that’s a pity?

I just don’t think the island’s big enough. To give you an example, my previous school fielded 37 cricket sides every Saturday during the cricket season. We had tough competition and a large number of schools against whom to play. In Mauritius, there are few sides to compete against and few people make money out of sports. So children play in a less competitive environment in Mauritius and that is perhaps healthier.

Isn’t the flip side that the competition is put on academic subjects?

There is competition on the academic side.

Does it strike you as being unusual?

If I look at Northfields, there is competition there is a drive amongst pupils to achieve because they aim to get into overseas universities.

Is that healthy or not?

I think that when pupils go to school, they should enjoy their lives. We have that on the one side, but on the other, there is a lack of quality tertiary institutions and a lack of places. Virtually all of the universities have introduced a points system for entry purposes, because they offer limited places and need a system that assists them in accepting only the best. Take the U.K for example, where universities can only manage about 600,000 students per year. There are at least 800,000 applications. China is in many ways the worst. Two million people in China get school leaving certificates annually and there are university places for only one million. Western universities are so crowded that they’ve raised the points system. That is where the pressure comes from. Parents want their children to get into good universities.

Do you feel that results in a lot of pressure from parents on their children?

Oh, yes.

Does that affect the child’s performance?

There are children born with that hunger and working personality but not everyone is academic in terms of getting or wanting to get high marks and that’s the problem.

It is becoming apparent that because of this pressure, more pupils are requiring psychological counseling and related services.

What’s wrong with parents wanting their children to get high marks?

Nothing. But they have to be realistic.

Isn’t it a question of attitude? People only want white collar jobs not realizing that there are so many more rewarding jobs?

Definitely. The community expects their children to pursue a university-type education despite the fact that they might not have the ability. That is a problem.

How hard is it to convince a parent that their child is not university material?

It’s difficult. In the end one has to hope that the ongoing poor performances of their children clearly indicate that university is not the correct choice.

What if the parent says that the problem is that the teachers are not pushing the child hard enough?

What happens then is that the child enters a depressive psychological state and that’s when reality dawns. We are living in a world where the aspirations of parents are sometimes far in excess of their child’s ability. In my previous school, I used to say to parents who had aspirations for their sons to become professional rugby or cricket players: “Do yourself a favour and look back at your gene pool. Did you have any great sportsmen on either side of the family? If you haven’t, then it is highly likely that your son does not have the necessary genes. I believe that much the same applies to being superior in academics..

Is it as simple as that? How much are we born with?

I believe in genes. There is a gene pool. That is not to say it’s absolute, but to expect a child who does not come from a certain gene pool to suddenly become the next Einstein, would most probably be an unrealistic expectation.

How much does upbringing have to do with it?

That is important. At present, and regretfully, there are people who have the ability but will perhaps never have the opportunity to develop. They will never be discovered unless there is an education system that is accessible to them. One thing I’ll say about Mauritius that is great is the free bussing of children to get to school. That’s wonderful and I think that all countries should do that. Many pupils in SA can’t get to school because they don’t have a transport system or have to pay too much to get on a bus. What’s going to happen is that we’ll never get to discover talented children who come from deprived backgrounds. If you have a child that grows up in a home that values education, and parents who encourage it, then there’s no doubt in my mind that that child is going to succeed in life. They will have a good work ethic and they will achieve well. So, background does matter a great deal.

How much genes, how much background?

In my opinion a significant proportion of genes is important for superior academic achievement.

How much is left for school education, then?

A formal education is important but I still think that genes are more significant. Children who have bright parents invariably end up being bright themselves and if they are placed in a reasonably good education system, they perform at a high level.

What is the typical Northfields pupil?

We have a nice mix of pupils. We are an international school, so we have pupils from all over the world. The last time I looked at the statistics, 25% of our pupils came from all over the world but the vast majority is Mauritian. We can say that those who attend Northfields represent the middle class and maybe the wealthier part of the middle class. The school has an outreach programme to fund pupils who can benefit from attending Northfields but who do not have the means.

Boarding school is a current concept in SA, something we, wrongly, I think, don’t believe in, in this country. How many kids do you think we could take out of poverty through boarding schools?

If I were the minister of education of any country, I’d make boarding school almost compulsory for those pupils who come from deprived backgrounds and especially boys.

What’s the difference?

Girls, I think, need to be closer to their mothers for a longer period of time. Boys need to be put in boarding school when they turn 14 or 15 so that they can achieve independence in a structured environment.

What kind of students would you put in boarding school?

Pupils who have working parents. If both parents are busy with work, they don’t have time to supervise their children. Children who come from such homes should attend a boarding school.

Are you going to suggest opening a boarding school in Northfields?

The Board are keen on setting up a boarding establishment.

Are they?

We are looking at that sometime next year.

How are the parents responding?

Well, we’ve got a number of people who are really pleased. Parents are quite happy with a weekly boarding school where they’d their children off on Monday and then fetch them after school on Friday. Weekends are spent at home.

What do you make of the quality time we ought to spend with our children?

Well, look at parents who are working. They get up in the morning, have to battle against traffic and get their child to school. Then they go to work themselves. And maybe they have someone pitching in or they let the children go home in the bus. When the children get home early they are usually unsupervised. The parents come home tired and are not able to invest that much time in the child. The next day, the same thing happens. So the quality time you end up spending with your child is nil. That’s why we say, “You don’t have time, so give the children to us. We feed them properly, make sure they study and if they’ve got a problem, we’ve got a teacher on hand who can help them. Then, at the end of the week, you’re ready for a lovely weekend, you’re at your best, your child is at their best. So you have them at the best time and we have them at the worst time. It’s a winwin situation.

How are you and the family settling down in Mauritius?

My children are grown up. My daughter is a solicitor in London, and my son is a teacher in South Africa. My wife is a retired teacher and she’s really enjoying it. This is a really nice country.

Anything you found particularly striking in the country when you landed, from the point of view of the foreigner?

What I like about the country is the absence of a rush-mentality.

Are you saying we’re laid back?

(laughs) People are less intense. People work but there seems to be a less intense way of getting things done.

How about our relationships with our children, are we getting things right?

I’ve still got to get to know the people well but what I have noticed is that parents who pay premium fees to have their children schooled at independent schools of which we are one tend to get more involved in the education of their children. You therefore get a greater buy-in from parents. They are involved and want to be involved, so you form good relationships between the staff, the parents and the pupils.

If I sent my child to Northfields, what would I be paying for?

I think most of the fees are used for paying salaries to a good staff and for teaching resources in the classrooms. I was pleasantly surprised with the qualifications, quality and calibre of the teaching staff.

What will your priority be now that you’ve taken stock of the situation here?

I would like to continue building a stronger community spirit by having more activities on Saturday mornings. . And one of the problems which I have found in Mauritius is that the government, through legislation, has decided that teachers only teach from 8am to 3pm from Mondays to Fridays. And because of the legislation, one cannot easily offer activities on Saturdays. Where I come from, Saturday is a day of sport and community building. I see that as part of education. I’d meet my parent body, my old boys… I’d love to have that in Mauritius: schools playing sport against each other and the parents coming to support the children. You build a whole community and I think that here, because of legislation, you can’t easily achieve that purpose.

Are the parents free to come and watch sport with you on Saturdays?

I think that if one could offer a few community building activities, including sport on Saturdays, there is a good chance of more parents coming to the school to support their children. It’s a way to build up a tremendous feeling of community and pride in the school. .

What you’re saying is that you would like to set up a Saturday school, and you know that you won’t get the support from your staff because they are protected by the law?

I have recently researched the possibility of offering activities on Saturday mornings at our school and the response from parents of the pupils in the younger forms is promising. As a consequence we are going to offer soccer on Saturday mornings during the course of this term. It will be interesting to see the degree of support from the staff.

I’m sure teachers would come on Saturdays if they were paid?

I think that legislation governs this aspect.

No legislation, surely, dictates what people should do in their own free time. Teachers are free to go and work if they are properly paid.

I think that it is important to appreciate that teachers have long holiday periods that are funded by their employers and I don’t think that “working” by supporting sport on Saturdays should attract additional remuneration. Teachers on this island work between 180 and 190 days a year. This is a “Mickey Mouse” number of days compared to other nations! If you go to the northern hemisphere, the average number of teaching days is 220 a year. If you go to the East, those wonderful hardworking people have 250 school days a year.

That is why they go mad so often.

(Outburst of laughter) That is why we buy their products. They haven’t run away from the hard sciences. They’ve run towards maths, physics and chemistry, which is why they manufacture all those wonderful cars and computers. The Western world has run towards other disciplines. The West now imports from the East and its exports are insufficient to pay for these imports. There is no doubt in my mind that the West needs to revisit its education systems.

Why don’t you add the number of days you want to the school calendar?

Alterations to the school calendar to obtain additional teaching days must be done in a gradual way and much selling of this important objective needs to be done. It is always difficult to change something that has been in existence for a long time.

Have you shared your thoughts with your staff ?

(Laughs) I think that they are aware of my concerns in this regard. It is also clear that if one wants to obtain a buy-in by the teaching profession, in general, better salaries need to be paid.

But that’s not happening, is it?

I don’t know about Mauritius. SA and many other countries are in serious trouble because, over many years, they have paid their teachers poorly and it is not surprising that so few young people are considering teaching as a future. I believe that the world is already facing a huge crisis in so far as the supply of quality teachers is concerned. Teaching is a calling. It is the most noble of all professions simply because it holds the future of the world in its hands. However, those who have gone into teaching with the hope of being extremely wealthy have, in my opinion, made a mistake.

Interviewed by Touria PRAYAG
L’express Weekly

Touria PRAYAG