The Ethics Education Fellowship has officially entered its second phase in Mauritius with an inspiring series of training workshops that reached 148 educators from across the country. This second phase aims to reach 1,250 new learners across 46 schools in Mauritius, including Rodrigues Island, building on the solid foundation of the first phase.
Organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, the Mauritius Institute of Education, and Arigatou International, the training focused on equipping teachers to promote inclusive and safe learning environments in their classrooms.
The first training workshop was held from 12 to 14 February 2025 at the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE). The opening ceremony gathered key leaders from the education sector, including Professor Kiran Bhujun, Director of Tertiary Education, Science and Research; Dr. Surekha Devi Ramful, Director of Schooling at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute; Dr. Guy Jean-Noel Genevieve, Director of Primary Education, Curriculum Development and Evaluation; Mr. Rajiv Kumar Aukhojee, Director of Secondary Education; and Dr. Jimmy Harmon, Deputy Director for Secondary Education. Their presence underscored the strong institutional commitment to advancing ethics education.
Facilitated by local Ethics Education Fellows, Mr. Jay Ramsaha and Mr. Kumar Aukhojee, the sessions introduced educators to the pillars of ethics education, the ecology of the child, and strategies for building safe learning environments. Teachers engaged in meaningful discussions on the role of ethics in education, exploring how these principles can help address social challenges and foster mutual respect in classrooms.
In parallel with the training, Ms. Maria Lucia Uribe, Executive Director of Arigatou International, and Mr. Suchith Abeyewikreme, Senior Program Lead, met with Mr. Veersingh Boodhna, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. They were joined by Mr. R. K. Aukhojee and Dr. J. N. Genevieve for a productive exchange about scaling up and institutionalizing ethics education in Mauritius. Mr. Boodhna expressed strong support for the second phase of the Fellowship and shared his interest in promoting Mauritius as an example for other countries seeking to transform education.
The visit also included strategic meetings with the Mauritius Institute of Education, where Ms. Uribe met Dr. Aruna Ankiah-Gangadeen, Deputy Director, to explore deeper collaboration on teacher training. Fellows Mr. Jay Ramsaha and Ms. Seema Goburdhun contributed valuable insights based on their work as MIE lecturers. The team also met with Dr. Vassen Naeck, Acting Director of the Fortified Learning Environment Unit at the National Social Inclusion Foundation, to explore ways to extend ethics education to tutors and coordinators working with children living in poverty.
Further dialogue took place with the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children. In a meeting with Ms. Aneeta Ghoorah, the discussion focused on integrating ethics education into non-formal education settings, with particular interest in expanding activities to primary schools. Additionally, the team engaged with the Technical Committee on the Foundation Programme in Literacy, Numeracy, and Skills (FPLNS) to explore how ethics education and dialogue can be embedded into national curriculum initiatives that build self-esteem, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making in learners.
During their time in Mauritius, the team also met with the M-Kids Organization Youth Council, a national NGO devoted to empowering vulnerable children through community-based initiatives. Conversations with Imam Arshad Joomon, Director of M-Kids, and Ms. Oumaimah AG J, Director of Programmes, opened exciting possibilities for collaboration around ethics education and child spiritual development.
The journey continued to Rodrigues Island, where a second workshop was held from 19 to 21 February 2025. Twenty-eight teachers from eight secondary schools took part in the three-day training, which was led by Ethics Education Fellows and MIE lecturers Mr. Jay Ramsaha and Dr. Rajendra Korlapu-Bungaree. This extension of the program to Rodrigues highlights the Fellowship’s commitment to inclusion and national reach.
The second phase of the Ethics Education Fellowship in Mauritius is made possible through a partnership between Arigatou International, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), Human Fraternity, and the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace. With visionary leadership, institutional support, and the dedication of educators and fellows, Mauritius is moving decisively toward a future where education empowers children to live together in peace, guided by values of respect, empathy, and shared responsibility.
