Integrated Tertiary Education Centers for STEM Disciplines
Integrated Tertiary Education Centers for STEM Disciplines
Business Model Description
Provide higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields for domestic and international students at tertiary level by integrating institutions and educational infrastructure with student housing, workplaces, leisure facilities, enhancing student mobility and employability.
Expected Impact
Empower especially youth and women with the STEM skills in Mauritius' job market, leading to lower unemployment rates and increased national productivity.
How is this information gathered?
Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.
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Country & Regions
- Mauritius: Plaines Wilhems
- Mauritius: Moka
- Mauritius: Rivière Noire
Sector Classification
Education
Development need
Over the years, Mauritius is characterized by the problem of education and skills mismatch leading to a disconnect between the needs of the economy and the education system. The resulting consequences in the form of labor shortages and underemployment of educated workers are further aggravated by an aging population (1). In 2020, youth unemployment was of 26.1% (24).
Policy priority
Government Programme for 2020-2024 includes the aim to position Mauritius as the leading education hub for the region (2). The Higher Education Commission Strategic Plan emphasizes learning through modern digital technology and latest best practices and rendering Mauritius a regional knowledge hub (7).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Though Mauritius performs exceptionally well in terms of gender equality within education, it still experiences a lack of women with STEM-related degrees (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). This results in gender unequal payment given that STEM related careers are highly valued (3).
Investment opportunities introduction
Various incentives ranging from 3% corporate tax; exemption of tax on IT and IT related materials and equipment for setting up of private campuses as well as grant-in-aid for running Special Education Needs Schools exist. The budget allocation for upgrading and establishment of school infrastructure as well as to support online learning also increased (4).
Key bottlenecks introduction
In spite of educational reforms and significant government investment in the education sector, the education-skill mismatch still persists. There is a need to develop projects that generate interest in skills demanded by the market and emerging sectors (5).
Formal Education
Development need
With a limited natural resources capital, Mauritius needs to develop higher skills, professional capacity and advanced knowledge in order to achieve its goal of a higher income country and a knowledge-based economy (the objective is that knowledge contributes to 10% of GDP by 2025) (9, 17, 7, 23). It also needs to upgrade the quality of its tertiary and higher education (23).
Policy priority
The National Training and Reskilling Scheme aims at reskilling 9,000 unemployed in key sectors of the economy (8). The Government also launched the “One Graduate per Family” policy, aiming at increasing the skills and competence of young people (23). Mauritius also aims at becoming a regional education hub (17), improve enrolment in STEM education and ICTs literacy (45, 10).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Women and youth face lower initial earnings and more difficulty in catching up with high-paid workers, partly due to their lack of skills to access job opportunities in expanding and highly paid sectors (33). Additionally, a strong gendered pattern appears in the STEM education at secondary, tertiary and doctoral levels (11).
Investment opportunities introduction
The Human Resource Development Council contributes to employees' training costs of up to MUR 60,000 (USD 2,000) per employee in training (13, 14). Opportunities are in formal education development in the sectors of agriculture, ICTs, tourism and STEM thanks to favorable investment conditions for international private universities and students (9, 44, 12).
Key bottlenecks introduction
Enrolment is high in low-demand fields, when it is rather low in high-demand fields such as STEM or specialized manual activities. Additionally, the curricula often do not respond to the demand of the labor market for soft skills, especially for academic and technical levels (9).
Pipeline Opportunity
Integrated Tertiary Education Centers for STEM Disciplines
Provide higher education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields for domestic and international students at tertiary level by integrating institutions and educational infrastructure with student housing, workplaces, leisure facilities, enhancing student mobility and employability.
Business Case
Market Size and Environment
> USD 1 billion
Mauritius has 108,562 secondary students and 47,398 tertiary students
In 2018, there were 47,398 tertiary students (37). Tertiary enrolment rate is expected to rise to 60% by 2030 compared to 47% in 2015 (17). The Uniciti Education Hub aims to welcome 5,000 students by 2025, out of which 75% are expected to be international students (15).
Students of Sub-Saharan Africa are the most mobile of the world, with 5% of the 8.1 million tertiary students having studied abroad, compared to a global average of 2.4%. In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa university students studying abroad were 404,000. In 2027, the number of students in the region is expected to reach 22 million (18).
In 2023, the market of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is expected to reach USD 20.8 billion globally, with a CAGR of 40.1% from 2018 value (USD 3.9 billion) (43).
Indicative Return
ROE: 10-25%
Integrated tertiary education centers are expected a return on equity of 10-25% based on the examples of the Dhofar University and the Majan College in Oman (45).
Investment Timeframe
Medium Term (5–10 years)
According to consultations with stakeholders operating in the tertiary education area, integrated tertiary education centers can generate positive return in 3-4 years (49).
Ticket Size
USD 1 million - USD 10 million
Market Risks & Scale Obstacles
Capital - Limited Investor Interest
Market - Volatile
Impact Case
Sustainable Development Need
Tertiary enrolment rate in Mauritius stood at 44.26% in 2020 (46), whereas the government aims to achieve 60% enrolment by 2030 (17).
Mauritius’ high unemployment rate is exacerbated by skills shortages in the STEM and financial industries, limiting economic diversification (34). Low-skilled jobs are mostly filled by foreign workers, increasing Mauritian labor force unemployment who remain unqualified for higher-paying jobs (31).
The rapid shift of Mauritius economy from a low-skilled and traditional sectors to a service-based economy, requiring high-skilled labor force (33), was not followed by the adequate training and education offers, creating a skills gap between education curricula and the labor market needs (31).
Gender & Marginalisation
Youth are more exposed to unemployment with an unemployment rate of 26.1% in 2020 (6).
Unemployment rate for women was 10.1%, while the unemployment rate for males was 4.7% in 2018. Young women are more likely not to be engaged in any form of study or employment (32). Women’s average monthly income tends to be lower although they are more qualified than their male counterparts (20).
Women's enrolment in STEM subjects is lower than men (23), for the year 2017-2018, 17.41% of male student were enrolled in STEM subjects, compared to 11.1% for women) (36).
Expected Development Outcome
Increased skilled labor force, through greater participation in higher education matching the needs of the labor market, will enhance the national employment rate (31, 21, 23).
The development of tertiary education, including STEM education, will enable the strengthening of Mauritius human capital and support the knowledge economy, enhancing Mauritius productivity and competitiveness (35, 36, 21). In 2012, Mauritius ranked 62 out of 146 on the Knowledge Economy Index (23).
Tertiary education developments will increase impoverished youth's access to higher education while improving their living conditions through better-paying jobs (35) The objective is to reach 68,000 students enrolled by 2025, tertiary-level student intake is expected to double by 2025 (23)
Gender & Marginalisation
A drop in gender wage gap and higher female employment, especially for young women, is anticipated from higher women enrolment in STEM learning and skills at tertiary level (22).
Youth will benefit from an education aligned with the labor market needs and with the contemporary challenges Mauritius is facing (19).
Women will also benefit from a greater access to STEM education, reducing the gender gap in these field of study and employment (20).
Primary SDGs addressed
4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
1.67% in 2017 (with 1.72% for men) (24).
Mauritius government targets to reach 68,000 student enrolment in university education by 2025 (23).
8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15–24 years) not in education, employment or training
8.5.1 Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation and persons with disabilities
9.2% in 2020 (7.8% male, 11.1% female) (24).
18.1% in 2019 (with 21.3% for women and 15% for men) (24).
Average hourly earnings for male employees is MUR 163.5 (USD 3.80) and for female employees is MUR 143.7 (USD 3.30) in 2019 (24).
4% by 2030 (17).
As a member of the African Union (AU), Mauritius aims to reduce youth unemployment by 2% annually until 2023, as indicated in the African Union's Agenda 2063 - First Ten Year Plan (2013-2023) (50).
N/A
10.4.1 Labour share of GDP
45.1% in 2017 (24).
N/A
Secondary SDGs addressed
Directly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Corporates
Public sector
Indirectly impacted stakeholders
People
Corporates
Public sector
Outcome Risks
If the enrolment fees of the private tertiary education centers are too high for low income target groups, it may de facto reinforce the gap in access to higher education.
If the curricula of the tertiary education centers are not developed in coordination with the labor market actors, the skills mismatch may be reinforced, causing greater unemployment.
If the tertiary education centers experience significant enrolment rates, the supply of skilled workforce could exceed the demand with time and lead to increased unemployment.
Impact Risks
If the tertiary education centers cannot attract large numbers of students due to affordability challenges or are not sufficiently staffed due to labor shortages in trained teaching staff, the impact may be lower than expected.
Impact Classification
What
Integrated tertiary education centers for STEM disciplines address acute skills shortages, increase higher education enrolment, productivity, and national wealth, and enhance economic and industrial growth across different sectors.
Risk
Affordability issues may hinder the participation of students to private sector tertiary education centers. Labor shortages due to the lack of trained personnel may affect service delivery.
Contribution
In terms of upskilling the Mauritius labor force, advancement in STEM education have a positive spillover effect on the ICT and engineering sectors, which are vital for economic growth.
Impact Thesis
Empower especially youth and women with the STEM skills in Mauritius' job market, leading to lower unemployment rates and increased national productivity.
Enabling Environment
Policy Environment
Tertiary Education Strategic Plan 2013-2025, 2013: Aims at building Mauritius as a knowledge center by expanding access to quality higher education and strengthening research, development and innovation, to meet the needs of both Mauritius and the region (23).
Government Programme 2020-2024, 2020: Highlights education as key in the Government’s inclusiveness agenda. It is therefore taking measures to ensure a fair access to high quality education for all (2).
The Mauritius African Scholarship: Is awarding scholarship to students of African Union or African Commonwealth member states, for undertaking specific undergrad, master or PhD programs in public universities of Mauritius (41).
Financial Environment
Fiscal incentives: Those operating/constructing private tertiary institutions under the Smart City Scheme are exempted from several taxes, including income, corporate, capital gains, land transfer and custom duty on durable goods (25).
Fiscal incentives: A concessional 3% corporate tax rate applies to internationally recognized private universities set up in Mauritius. The construction and expansion of student campuses is exempted from land transfer tax and registration duty (16).
Other incentives: Companies incorporated in Mauritius are permitted to have 100% foreign ownership. There are no foreign exchange controls of any kind, and streamlined procedures for permits and licenses are available for investors, including for education centers (25).
Regulatory Environment
Tertiary Education Act, 1957 and its amendments: Regulates the establishment and functioning of public and private schools (38).
Tertiary Education Commission (Registration of Post-Secondary Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2005: Regulates the registration of private institutions or branches, centers or campuses of overseas institutions offering post-secondary education (39).
Tertiary Education Commission Act, 1988: Provides for the incorporation and management of a Tertiary Education Commission aiming at supervising and fostering the development of post-secondary education and training facilities (40).
Marketplace Participants
Private Sector
Curtin Mauritius, Middlesex International Ltd, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research Ltd, Royal Engineering and Architecture Ltd trading as Malaysian Consortium for Education, Unicity, Education Hub Ltd, UoM Trust, Anna Medical College.
Government
University of Mauritius (UoM), University of Technology Mauritius (UTM), Université des Mascareignes (UdM), Mauritius Institute of Health, Open University of Mauritius (OU), Fashion and Design Institute (FDI), Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre Trust Fund.
Multilaterals
International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNESCO, African Union (AU), African Development Bank (AfDB), World Bank, OECD, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Non-Profit
French Development Agency (AFD), YUVA Mauritius, Centre de Documentation, de Recherches et de Formation Indianoceaniques, Educational Development Youth Consultancy Services (EDYCS).
Public-Private Partnership
University-industry collaborative programme developed by Accenture Academy and the University of Mauritius and a dual apprenticeship scheme operated by the Université des Mascareignes in partnership with the Mauritius Exports Association (MEXA) (26).
Target Locations
Mauritius: Plaines Wilhems
Mauritius: Moka
Mauritius: Rivière Noire
References
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