The Government of Mauritius offered four major Scholarships each year to top students, two for the Primary School Examination and two for the Secondary School Examination. The first scholarship entitled the winners to free education at the Government run Royal College, and the second entitled the winners to study abroad at a University all expenses paid. To quality the students should not be over 12 years and 19 years of age respectively at time of examination.
My son in front of The Royal College Curepipe, my dream but not attainable college.
When I was in Primary Five, my family realized that I would be over 12 years of age for the Primary School Examination and therefore would be ineligible for the Scholarship. To allow me a chance to shoot for the Secondary School Scholarship, I skipped Primary Six and moved to Form I. In hindsight it was all wishful thinking as I was academically far from the elite students. Nonetheless it was a positive thinking and encouragement from my family.
There were three types of secondary schools (or colleges as we called them). The best college was the Government run “College Royal”, only two on the Island, one at Port Louis and one at Curepipe. The second best was colleges run by religious organizations, namely The Catholic and The Anglican Faiths. The last category was run by private entities and I ended in there at “Trinity College”. Three years ago, some sixty years later, I returned to Mauritius and visited the Trinity College. The building was intact except that the windows and doors were dilapidated and the school no longer in business. I reminisced my younger days at the school, the buzzling sound of students, the lining of students in the school yard, the morning prayer recital , and last but not least the Indian street vendor with his cart full of delicious roti, parked daily without fail by the school under the banyan tree.
The Trinity College looks the same today as it was 50 years ago, except the dilapidated balcony and doors
Street vendors were popular as they are now. The best roti and dhal puri could be found here.
College life was pretty exciting as we started to learn a little more than we did in primary schools. I was excited about physics and geometry but hated biology and chemistry. Latin was a breeze of fresh air. Because I jumped one class, I ended in the same class with my elder brother. It was a comfort to me to have a big brother protecting his little brother. We studied to Form V and had to change college because Trinity College had no Form VI.
Through some referral I was accepted to continue my Form VI at St. Mary’s College in the suburb of Rose Hill. St. Mary’s was run by Catholic Brothers and discipline was stricter than when I was at Trinity. It was a prestigious school and we felt proud when we walked in the streets in our school uniform, badge prominently displayed on our front pocket. That pride dissipated quickly as I got in trouble for not complying with the school’s rule requiring students to have their shorts to almost reach the knees, mine was way too short. I could not remember why I did not get a longer shorts, could be that I did not want my parents to spend more money on new shorts, knowing how hard it was already for them to send me to college. While primary education was free and compulsory, secondary school came with a monthly fee. One morning I was told to stand in front of the class and the teacher, after satisfied that my shorts did not meet the school standard, administered on my bum three whacks of the cane. I believed that I was one of the few, if not only, students who had ever been caned in this school. An unpleasant experience.
The St. Mary’s College, Rose Hill in 2014 almost unchanged from 1960s
We were proud to show off our school badge
My parents were concerned about the incident and frantically checked with a cousin of mine who was studying at St. Andrew’s School, which interestingly was situated on the same street as St. Mary’s. My cousin managed to get me into his school, run by the Anglican Diocese. My mother often reminded us that in life we sometimes met “Guardian Angel” who opened some doors for us. I still remember the “good fortune” and am ever grateful to my cousin. I had no issue with my short shorts. One characteristic of this school was that the school consisted of a cluster of several independent buildings on a huge lot with mature trees, in contrast to other schools that had only one huge building. Secondly we did not have a fixed classroom, but had to walk to different class rooms when the bell rang at the end of each lesson, to attend another academic subject. This was refreshing as it broke the monotony of sitting all day at the same desk and in the same classroom. Thirdly it was the only co-ed secondary school at the time. I felt quite at ease, the environment more liberal but still disciplined. Students and teachers mingled pretty well, we felt a sense of mutual respect. One teacher even arranged for a field trip, my first ever, to a saw mill at Moka. I remember riding my bike to that location from Port Louis through serene sugar cane field and row of flamboyant trees to join the party.
The main entrance of St. Andrew’s School, Rose Hill
St. Andrew’s School consisted of a cluster of smaller buildings in a huge yard with mature trees
I might have biked my way on this road to join the “sawmill” field trip party in Moka. Nothing seems to have changed fifty years later.
One day the school organized a cocktail party for the Lower and Upper Six students, I think it was on a Saturday afternoon. I never before attended any party, and innocent I was, I attended in my usual school’s shorts and short sleeve white shirt. As a matter of fact I did not have a pair of long pants and long sleeve shirt. I felt like a fish out of water when I realized that I was severely underdressed. Further while my outgoing classmates enjoyed striking a good conversation with the teachers and priests, some of us including myself were shy and did not really know how to present ourselves inside the crowd. My shortfall was evidently the result of the traditional Chinese parents molding their children into keeping quiet when in the presence of other people, particularly seniors and superiors.
It was usual for students to take private tuition after school on subjects that they were weak. My brother and I, again at great sacrifice on my family, attended private lesson from a well recommended teacher who was educated in England. I remember she read, among others, a book about Tutankhamun, the Pharaoh of Egypt. We did not have a Public Library then to access such books, so it was an eye opener for me to learn new things. Every end of the month we handed in our tuition fees. Then one time the tutor said that we did not make the last payment, though we did. She would not accept any explanation and my family forked out one more time. I was disappointed but not angry because she could have forgotten. I had wished in that circumstance that people who were in a better situation could give the benefit of the doubt to the less fortunate.
Finally I sat for the Cambridge Higher School Certificate Examination and passed. Continuing to University was a dream but not an option for me, way unaffordable. We did not have then a University in Mauritius.