Darshwinee, 12, and Vaishnavee, 7, two sisters, have both received the most outstanding award at Morley Primary School, a public school in Perth, Western Australia. Though they joined their respective classes in Australia only in January 2010, they made it to the top at the end of their academic year.
The girls say that what they had learnt in class in Mauritius before moving to the land of the kangooroos had proved to be very helpful to them in their studies as well as in coping with the foreign environment.
Their father, Ramen Poonen, said: “We left Mauritius on 19 July 2009 and could not bring our kids with us due to the fact that Darshwinee was doing her CPE and Vaishnavee was in her first year in primary school.
Both were then studying at La Sourdine Government School. Darshwinee was left under the responsibilities of my parents and was guided by my younger sister and elder brother who helped her to pursue her studies. As for Vaishnavee, I had no choice but to send her to my in-laws’ place at Beau Vallon. As a result, we had to get her transferred to Beau Vallon Government School. I must say that both of them were well-looked after by my parents and in-laws. In fact, we used to call them very often, twice a week, but my main concern was for Darshwinee, thinking about the love and guidance which she was missing from us and fearing that this may affect her studies.”
But although her parents were away from her while she was doing her CPE, Darshwinee obtained 6As to the great pleasure of her parents. In January 2010, Darshwinee left for Australia with her kid sister to stay with her parents who were pursuing their studies over there. Vaishnavee on the other hand, had managed to come out first at Beau Vallon Government School at the end of year examinations in 2009.
It was with lots of anxiety that the two sisters joined Morley Primary School in February 2010. It was a new place with new classmates, new teachers as well as new subjects. A totally different learning environment was waiting for them. Schooling in Australia is compulsory and the primary education system there is very relaxing without pressure, no private tuition is needed, and only in Year 7 there is a National Exam. The maximum of children in class is between 25 to 30 students for one teacher. The school term is divided into four: at the end of the first trimester students get two weeks holidays, and at the end of the second and third trimesters two weeks and two months at the end of the last trimester.
“On every last Friday of each month, the schools hold a mixed assembly (parent and students) where the schools award their best students in each class at the end of each month. The teaching period lasts from 8.45 am to 3.00 pm, but all students must be in their class not later than 8.30 am. There's a world of difference between the education system for primary education of Mauritius and Australia. Here in Australia, the focus is more on the children's training and development rather than on academic learning whereas in Mauritius the pressure starts when your kids are in Std IV because everybody is competing. This creates a lot of stress and tension for both students and parents,” says Ramen adding that both children enjoy the school life in Australia.
“On Fridays, sport is compulsory. Moreover, often the school organises fund-raising activities, swimming, dancing and educational outings every term. They have been to places such as the zoo, the winery, a chocolate factory, Laser Corp (army role play), bowling and theatre, among others. There is an equal balance between studies and extra curriculum activities which make the schooling fun and leads to high motivation for children to go to school. They do English language, Mathematics, Society and Environment, Science, Art, Technology, Enterprise, English Literature, Chinese, Physical Education while in sports classes they learn Cricket, Soccer, Volleyball, Netball, Basketball, Baseball and Athletics from Year 4 to Year 7,” says Karoona, their mother.
In Australia, there is not a heavy load of homework. Darshwinee spends between 1 to 2 hours per day at home for her homework but this comprises mainly research work on the Internet for her project and literature. As for Vaishnavee, she has to write a report of how she has spent her weekend and submit to the class every Monday.
According to Ramen, it is thanks to the educational background from Mauritius that her two daughters have been able to overcome the obstacles in education. Darshwinee has won the most prestigious award called “Pursuit In Excellency and Principal Award 2010” for her most outstanding performance. Vaishnavee won the best student award 2010 for Year 2.
Ramen explains that in the very beginning, they were not sure that their daughters would be able to cope with the new environment. He says: “My daughters have been in Australia for one year and at the beginning it was very difficult for them to adapt to the new environment, with different people, different cultures and language. It took them two to three months to adapt to the new environment where everybody speaks English. As parents, we have been by their side day and night to motivate them, meet their teachers very often to see their improvements, talk with them at home in English so as to enable them to improve their fluency in English. The Aussie English is a bit different compared to British English such as No is Noy, Yes is Yep. Fortunately, they have succeeded in integrating the groups of friends at school and nowadays Vaishnavee speak mostly in English with us at home rather than Creole.”
During their first months, Darshwinee and Vaishnavee admit that they felt rejected by their classmates. On top of that, there were other Mauritian kids in their class but still they had no friends. However, their teachers were very kind, gentle and patient towards them and spent a lot of time with them to get them on the right track.
For the proud parents, self-confidence and hard work with clear goals were the reasons for the success of their two daughters. “Each country has their own education system, and I can say it loudly that thanks to the education system in Mauritius, my daughters have been able to adjust in a foreign country and top their school year. Every time people say that the education system in Mauritius is putting a lot of pressure, stress and burden on our children. However, when you are abroad you realise its value. However, there are improvements that are needed; in order to reduce stress on students, parents and teachers, more extra-curricular activities must be introduced at the primary school such as swimming, dancing, inter-school sports competition, among others,” says Ramen.
Last week, Darshwinee joined the Morley High School while Vaishnavee moved to Year 3 at Morley Primary School.
Two Mauritian students excel in Australia
