Building the future
By Pratima Adhikary Auckel
Published on 25th July, 2008
If you have never been to the College de la Confiance, you are strongly advised to do it as soon as possible. It's a place worth visiting for the beauty of its location and the quality of the education it imparts. The premises abound in palm trees and are surrounded by sugar cane fields. It's good enough saying that students here learn and live in nature.
La Confiance is a Confessional school. One of its missions is to develop the Catholic faith. “ But we welcome pupils of other beliefs too. We give much importance to classes in moral values. We also strongly encourage each child to follow, strengthen and improve his faith in the religion he belongs to,” says Daniel Merven, Manager.
He adds: “ Besides traditional academic subjects, we offer theory and practical lessons in agriculture and animal husbandry. Courses are also run in technical, metal and wood work. All these make our institution an inclusive one, one that believes in a holistic education.”
Merven points out: “Our centre of concern is the child. Our conviction is that every child, irrespective of any social, financial or educational background, must be respected. Hence, over the years, we have helped our pupils discover and promote the talents they are gifted with.”
However, he notes, changes in the world and in society have had a strong influence on the school. “Today parents have very little time for their children. There is a lack of parenting and we have children who find themselves in a difficult situation.”
He says : “ Parents form an essential part of the educational system. The child is in the centre and is supported by the parents and school. Neither the school nor the parents can pretend to educate a child alone.”
Watch on social evils
Rector Will Daurat says the school is concerned about social evils and the ill effects of sophisticated technologies. “We try our best to see that our pupils are not picked up by anti-social elements outside school. There is a transport to drop the pupils closest to their destination in the afternoon.”
More importantly, he adds, the school has a counselling team of psychologists and teachers, who are trained and fully aware of the different evils that plague society. Some team teachers are also following courses in counselling to be able to detect any kind of depression or problems among the pupils.
The rector says teachers and counsellors have regular one to one contacts with the students. And whenever anything negative is detected, corrective action is taken.
“We believe that risks of falling victims to social evils can be best lessened if the energy is channelled in the right direction. That's why we put a lot of emphasis on facilities for music, arts and sports.”
Daurat says the school is not only meant for the best pupils ; it also caters for the mixed ability students. “In fact, giving equal opportunities and care to all was the philosophy of the founding fathers of the college. It has worked well so far,” he says.
“We do have pupils with very good results. The pass percentage was above 96% at the SC and 87% at HSC.”
According to the rector, the demand for admission at HSC level has increased over the years. And because of that, the school is coming up with a new project of building eight more classrooms and two special rooms.
Beyond the classroom
Visitors to this institution will be surprised to see students taking care of animals and enjoying their gardening. Here every pupil follows a practical and theory course in agriculture and animal husbandry. It is compulsory for Forms I to III pupils and optional at SC level.
Jean Paul Antoine, head of the agriculture department says: “We have goats, rabbits, chickens and vegetable gardens.
The boys enjoy and show keen interest in the subject. It is all very exciting and interesting but it soon becomes a dead end since Cambridgeconducts no HSC examination in agriculture. Many are discouraged to take up this subject at the University level as there is a gap between School Certificate and tertiary,” he adds.
He thinks that Government should find ways and means to create interest in agriculture and animal husbandry among the students. All colleges may be asked to introduce and teach the subjects. This would also pave the way to promote the agro-industry which is today facing a great crisis in Mauritius.
“The society of agriculture teachers is trying to work on this issue. We do prepare texts and periodicals to suit the local context. Presently the team is working to introduce new technologies like roof gardening and hydroponics in the Form III texts. Nonetheless we are grateful to the Agricultural Research Institute and others that supply us with news and documents to keep abreast with the latest developments,” Jean adds.
He adds: “ Besides traditional academic subjects, we offer theory and practical lessons in agriculture and animal husbandry. Courses are also run in technical, metal and wood work. All these make our institution an inclusive one, one that believes in a holistic education.”
Merven points out: “Our centre of concern is the child. Our conviction is that every child, irrespective of any social, financial or educational background, must be respected. Hence, over the years, we have helped our pupils discover and promote the talents they are gifted with.”However, he notes, changes in the world and in society have had a strong influence on the school. “Today parents have very little time for their children. There is a lack of parenting and we have children who find themselves in a difficult situation.”
He says : “ Parents form an essential part of the educational system. The child is in the centre and is supported by the parents and school. Neither the school nor the parents can pretend to educate a child alone.”
Watch on social evilsRector Will Daurat says the school is concerned about social evils and the ill effects of sophisticated technologies. “We try our best to see that our pupils are not picked up by anti-social elements outside school. There is a transport to drop the pupils closest to their destination in the afternoon.”
More importantly, he adds, the school has a counselling team of psychologists and teachers, who are trained and fully aware of the different evils that plague society. Some team teachers are also following courses in counselling to be able to detect any kind of depression or problems among the pupils.
The rector says teachers and counsellors have regular one to one contacts with the students. And whenever anything negative is detected, corrective action is taken.
“We believe that risks of falling victims to social evils can be best lessened if the energy is channelled in the right direction. That's why we put a lot of emphasis on facilities for music, arts and sports.”
Daurat says the school is not only meant for the best pupils ; it also caters for the mixed ability students. “In fact, giving equal opportunities and care to all was the philosophy of the founding fathers of the college. It has worked well so far,” he says.
“We do have pupils with very good results. The pass percentage was above 96% at the SC and 87% at HSC.”
According to the rector, the demand for admission at HSC level has increased over the years. And because of that, the school is coming up with a new project of building eight more classrooms and two special rooms.
Beyond the classroom
Visitors to this institution will be surprised to see students taking care of animals and enjoying their gardening. Here every pupil follows a practical and theory course in agriculture and animal husbandry. It is compulsory for Forms I to III pupils and optional at SC level.
Jean Paul Antoine, head of the agriculture department says: “We have goats, rabbits, chickens and vegetable gardens.
The boys enjoy and show keen interest in the subject. It is all very exciting and interesting but it soon becomes a dead end since Cambridgeconducts no HSC examination in agriculture. Many are discouraged to take up this subject at the University level as there is a gap between School Certificate and tertiary,” he adds.He thinks that Government should find ways and means to create interest in agriculture and animal husbandry among the students. All colleges may be asked to introduce and teach the subjects. This would also pave the way to promote the agro-industry which is today facing a great crisis in Mauritius.
“The society of agriculture teachers is trying to work on this issue. We do prepare texts and periodicals to suit the local context. Presently the team is working to introduce new technologies like roof gardening and hydroponics in the Form III texts. Nonetheless we are grateful to the Agricultural Research Institute and others that supply us with news and documents to keep abreast with the latest developments,” Jean adds.