“There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy”. These are words that Shakespeare had put in the mouth of Hamlet when addressing Horatio some 400 years ago, but which are still relevant today. We are sometimes told that specialists know more and more about less and less. This is the feeling that we get when we follow the debate on the use of Kreol as the medium of instruction or as a subject to be studied on its own in the school curriculum.

Common sense dictates that the transmission of knowledge has to proceed from the known to the unknown. There is no quarrel about that, and the language of the environment has to be used in the early years during which a child is being educated. But we should not lose sight of the larger picture.

Why is there such a high rate of failure among children from the underprivileged classes of society at the end of the primary cycle? It cannot be just a question of the medium of instruction. These children come from families who have to worry about the conditions under which they live rather than schooling and education for their children. These social and economic conditions- poverty, unemployment, broken families, decrepit housing in an insalubrious environment, abuse of alcohol and drugs-have made them despair of seeing a brighter future for themselves and their children.

We have to admit that the socio-economic conditions of the deprived classes of Mauritian society are a bigger stumbling block to their progress than just a question of using Kreol at school. Radio One is currently engaged in a laudable initiative to provide-with contributions from the public at large-decent housing to ten among the most deprived families.

If such an example could be followed by other fi rms -with the State doing what it has to do- the road to education and progress would be more accessible. In the fi eld of education proper there are many ways in which the problem of failure can be addressed. A good preschool education in decent surroundings, reinforced by useful resources and appropriate pedagogy for children between the ages of 3 and 5 will give them the start required on their voyage of discovery.

The use of the language of environment (Kreol, Bhojpuri or any other language) and incentives to encourage them to come to school (like food and educational toys) are equally important. But it would be wrong, however, to continue using Kreol or Bhojpuri as the medium of instruction after a certain stage in their educational development has been reached. Kreol and Bhojpuri are spoken languages which are full of imagery. Primary school teachers can make good use of such imagery. So will writers and singers, not to mention politicians addressing public gatherings.

We should also be aware that many Mauritian families who were uneducated and unemployed made heavy sacrifices over the past sixty years or so by emigrating to UK and France in order to secure a better future for themselves and their children. Their spattering of English and French helped them to overcome the initial barriers on their way to a better future. Their small children, who got “immersed” in the new environment, mainly through schooling, picked up English or French in a matter of months and found it easier to communicate with their parents in the newly acquired language. This is also part of education, which leads to socioeconomic mobility. Our ancestors who came to Mauritius realized this and their descendants have now become very proficient in many languages, including Englishand French, which is a great asset in the world today. There are also many Mauritian writers who have made their mark on the international scene, particularly in French and Hindi.

We tend however to believe that the whole world revolves around us and refuse to see how an early acquisition of English and French will help our children fi nd a useful place for themselves in the global village of tomorrow. We also continue to ignore how other languages like Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi and others are fast becoming important in the fi elds of communication and commerce. All the components of the Mauritian population have adopted Kreol to communicate among themselves, which is a very important element of the Mauritian identity. But we should also realize that a mastery of languages which are more important internationally will give us an edge over countries which do not have the same advantage that we have in our learning environment.