The education system in Mauritius is largely based on the British system since Mauritius was a former British colony. The government of Mauritius provides free education to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary levels. Since July 2005, the government also introduced free transport for all students. For the year 2011, government expenditure on education was estimated at about Rs 11,709 million, representing 12.5 % of total expenditure. The education system in Mauritius is categorized into 4 main sectors – pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary. The education structure consist of 3 years of pre-primary school, six years of free and compulsory primary schooling leading to the Certificate of Primary Education, followed by five years of secondary education leading to the School Certificate and a further two years of higher secondary ending with the Higher School Certificate. The O-Level and A-Level examinations are carried out by the University of Cambridge through University of Cambridge International Examinations, which devises the syllabus; prepares and prints the examinations papers. After the examination, papers are sent to Cambridge for marking, some corrections are also done in Mauritius. The Tertiary Education sector includes studying at the colleges, universities and other technical institutions in Mauritius. The country's two main public universities are the University of Mauritius and University of Technology. The Tertiary Education Commission's Strategic Plan envisages Mauritius as a regional knowledge hub and a centre for higher learning and excellence. It promotes open and distance learning to increase access to post-secondary education and lifelong learning, both locally and regionally
