Island to open first French language university

By Guillaume Gouges. The Mauritian government has announced the opening this year of the Indian Ocean island’s first French language university, to be called Université des Mascareignes, with the help of France’s University of Limoges.
The French university's President Hélène Pauliat met Mauritian Minister of Tertiary Education Rajesh Jeetah earlier this month to sign a memorandum of understanding on the project.
Mauritius has positioned itself in recent years to be a regional knowledge hub. Higher education reforms are under way, new universities and campuses are being built and the government is working to attract 100,000 international students by 2020.
Université des Mascareignes will join a long list of private foreign tertiary institutions opening branches in Mauritius.
Some 66 overseas institutions and examination bodies are now operating locally, 36 of them from the UK, eight from France-Réunion, eight from India, five from Australia, four from South Africa, two each from Malaysia and the United States, and one from Sudan.
The management of the University of Limoges, said the ministry, will assist local authorities in setting up a French-based teaching and good governance system for the new institution. Read more...